flotsam
noun
- the wreckage of a ship or its cargo floating at sea
- odds and ends
- unemployed people who drift from place to place
See flotsam in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(flŏtˈsəm)
nouna. Wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.
b. Floating refuse or debris.
- Discarded odds and ends.
- Vagrant, usually destitute people.
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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