The fathom is a unit of length in the imperial unit system and uses the symbol ftm.
One fathom is equal to 6 feet or 1.8288m.
The phrase fathom derives from an old English derivative of a Viking / Danish word "favn" meaning emracing a pair of arms or a pair of oustretched hands.
The fathom is mostly used in the nautical world to describe depths of water.
The metre (or meter; US spelling) is the SI base unit of length and uses the symbol m.
Originally defined in 1793 as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole but was redefined in 1799 in terms of a prototyped metre bar (this bar was changed again in 1889).
In 1983 the current definition was adopted and it is now the most common unit in any property in the world and is used in thousands of formulae to describe countless characteristics.
Let's hear it for the metre!