flotsam — ► NOUN ▪ wreckage found floating on the sea. Compare with JETSAM(Cf. ↑jetsam). ● flotsam and jetsam Cf. ↑flotsam and jetsam ORIGIN Old French floteson, from floter to float … English terms dictionary
flotsam — [flät′səm] n. [Anglo Fr floteson < OFr flotaison, a floating < floter, to float < MDu vloten (or OE flotian), to FLOAT] 1. the wreckage of a ship or its cargo floating at sea 2. odds and ends 3. unemployed people who drift from place to… … English World dictionary
flotsam — c.1600, from Anglo Fr. floteson, from O.Fr. flotaison a floating, from floter to float (of Germanic origin; see FLOAT (Cf. float)) + aison, from L. ation(em). Spelled flotsen till mid 19c. when it altered, perhaps under influence of many English… … Etymology dictionary
flotsam — UK [ˈflɒtsəm] / US [ˈflɑtsəm] or flotsam and jetsam UK [ˌflɒtsəm ən ˈdʒetsəm] / US [ˌflɑtsəm ən ˈdʒetsəm] noun [uncountable] 1) things that you find floating in the sea or lying on the beach, especially parts of a ship that has sunk 2) things… … English dictionary
flotsam — flotsam, flotsan /flotsam/ A name for the goods which float upon the sea when cast overboard for the safety of the ship, or when a ship is sunk. Distinguished from jetsam (goods deliberately thrown over to lighten ship) and ligan … Black's law dictionary
flotsam — flotsam, flotsan /flotsam/ A name for the goods which float upon the sea when cast overboard for the safety of the ship, or when a ship is sunk. Distinguished from jetsam (goods deliberately thrown over to lighten ship) and ligan … Black's law dictionary
Flotsam — Flot sam, Flotson Flot son, n. [F. flotter to float. See {FFlotilla}, and cf. {Jetsam}.] (Law) Goods lost by shipwreck, and floating on the sea; in distinction from jetsam or jetson. Blackstone. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
flotsam — [n] floating debris cargo, castoffs, jetsam, junk, odds and ends, sea drift, wreckage; concepts 260,674 … New thesaurus
flotsam — [[t]flɒ̱tsəm[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT Flotsam is rubbish, for example bits of wood and plastic, that is floating on the sea or has been left by the sea on the shore. The water was full of flotsam and refuse. 2) N UNCOUNT You can use flotsam to refer to… … English dictionary
flotsam — noun Etymology: Anglo French floteson, from floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship Date: circa 1607 1. floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly floating debris 2. a. a floating population… … New Collegiate Dictionary
