flotsam

[ flot-suh m ]
/ ˈflɒt səm /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR flotsam ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. Compare jetsam, lagan.
material or refuse floating on water.
useless or unimportant items; odds and ends.
a vagrant, penniless population: the flotsam of the city slums in medieval Europe.
Also called flotsam and jetsam (for defs 3, 4).

Origin of flotsam

1600–10; < Anglo-French floteson, derivative of floter to float < Old English flotian

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH flotsam

flotsam jetsam

Words nearby flotsam

flotation tank, flote grass, flotel, flotilla, flotow, flotsam, flotsam and jetsam, flotus, flounce, flouncing, flouncy

Words related to flotsam and jetsam

lagan

British Dictionary definitions for flotsam and jetsam

flotsam
/ (ˈflɒtsəm) /

noun

wreckage from a ship found floating Compare jetsam (def. 1), lagan
useless or discarded objects; odds and ends (esp in the phrase flotsam and jetsam)
vagrants

Word Origin for flotsam

C16: from Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float

Idioms and Phrases with flotsam and jetsam

flotsam and jetsam
1

Discarded odds and ends, as in Most of our things have been moved to the new house, but there's still some flotsam and jetsam to sort. [Mid-1800s]

2

Destitute, homeless individuals, as in The mayor was concerned about the flotsam and jetsam of the inner city. [Second half of 1900s] Both words originated in 17th-century sailing terminology. Flotsam literally meant “wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.” Jetsam meant “goods thrown overboard from a ship in danger of sinking in order to give it more buoyancy.” Both literal meanings remain current, although the distinction between them is often forgotten.