Definition of flotsam
1 : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly : floating debris flotsam washed up by the tide
2a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) human flotsamb : miscellaneous or unimportant material a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsamc : debris, remains the village … built on the flotsam of war — Stan Sesser
People Are Reading
flotsam was our Word of the Day on 11/11/2012. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of flotsam in a Sentence
flotsam washed up on the shore
the dispirited family picked through the flotsam of their possessions after the hurricane, looking for anything that could be salvaged
Recent Examples of flotsam from the Web
-
The den of the model home is converted to a second bedroom, and flotsam of everyday life from the time will be in view.
-
Imagine an archipelago where each island hosts a single tortoise species and all the islands are connected — say by rafts of flotsam.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flotsam'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Flotsam and Jetsam Aren't Just Ursula's Eels
English speakers started using "flotsam," "jetsam," and "lagan" as legal terms in the 16th and 17th centuries. (The earliest evidence of "flotsam" dates from around 1607.) The three words were used to establish claims of ownership to the three types of sea-borne, vessel-originated goods they named. Flotsam was anything from a shipwreck. (The word comes from Old French floter, meaning"to float.") Jetsam and lagan were items thrown overboard to lighten a ship. Lagan was distinguished from jetsam by having a buoy attached so the goods could be found if they sank. In the 19th century, when "flotsam" and "jetsam" took on extended meanings, they became synonyms, but they are still very often paired.
Origin and Etymology of flotsam
Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship
FLOTSAM Defined for English Language Learners
flotsam
playDefinition of flotsam for English Language Learners
-
: floating pieces, parts, etc., from a ship that has been wrecked
Law Dictionary
Learn More about flotsam
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for flotsam Spanish Central: Translation of flotsam Nglish: Translation of flotsam for Spanish speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up flotsam? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!