Jetsam
/ˈd͡ʒɛt.səm/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Items thrown overboard from a ship or boat in distress in order to lighten its load. countable, uncountable
"There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris."
- 2 the floating wreckage of a ship wordnet
- 3 Discarded or leftover odds and ends. broadly, countable, uncountable
"They were the jetsam of the dot-com bust."
- 4 the part of a ship's equipment or cargo that is thrown overboard to lighten the load in a storm wordnet
Example
More examples"There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris."
Etymology
From Middle English jetteson, from Anglo-Norman getteson. Doublet of jettison.