flotsam
flotsam Lexical Profile
flotsam Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea.
"After the storm subsided, miles of coastline were littered with timber and other flotsam from the damaged freighter."
People or things that have been rejected, discarded, or regarded as worthless.
"His attic was packed with the accumulated flotsam of four decades of impulsive collecting."
Word Nuance & Usage
In maritime law, 'flotsam' refers strictly to wreckage or cargo that remains afloat accidentally after a ship sinks, whereas 'jetsam' refers to goods intentionally thrown overboard to lighten a vessel in distress.
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 17th century from Anglo-French 'floteson', from Old French 'floter' (to float), which is ultimately of Germanic origin and related to Old English 'flotian'.