Flotsam
/ˈflɒt.səm/noun
Floating wreckage or cargo washed from a ship into the sea.
Did you know?Flotsam and jettison come from an old legal distinction in maritime law: flotsam was cargo recovered after it floated free, while jetsam was intentionally thrown overboard to save the ship.
Etymological Timeline
Middle English
English
flotesam
“Floating wreckage or cargo from a shipwreck”
16th Century
English
flotsam
“Wreckage or goods found floating on the sea”
Late Middle English
Anglo-French
floteson
“Goods floating after a shipwreck”
Old English
Old English
flot
“The act of floating; the sea”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleu-
“To flow, float, or swim”