flotsam

flot·sam  (fltsm)

n.

1.

a. Wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.

b. Floating refuse or debris.

2. Discarded odds and ends.

3. Vagrant, usually destitute people.

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[Anglo-Norman floteson, from Old French floter, to float, of Germanic origin; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: In maritime law, flotsam applies to wreckage or cargo left floating on the sea after a shipwreck. Jetsam applies to cargo or equipment thrown overboard from a ship in distress and either sunk or washed ashore. The common phrase flotsam and jetsam is now used loosely to describe any objects found floating or washed ashore.

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flotsam

Noun

1. floating wreckage from a ship

2. flotsam and jetsam

a. odds and ends

b. Brit homeless or vagrant people [Anglo-French floteson]

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flotsam

material floating on the sea, especially debris or goods from ship-wrecks. Cf. jetsam.

See also: Ships

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Flotsam parts of wreckage of a ship or cargo found floating on the sea, 1607; of odds and ends, 1861. See also jetsam.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

flotsam - the floating wreckage of a ship jetsam wreckage - the remaining parts of something that has been wrecked; "they searched the wreckage for signs of survivors"

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flotsam

noun 1. debris, rubbish, wreckage, detritus, jetsam

noun 2. debris, sweepings, rubbish, junk, odds and ends

Translations

flotsam [ˈflɔtsəm] n (also: flotsam and jetsam) → Strandgut nt;

(floating) → Treibgut nt