jetsam

English

Etymology

From Middle English jetteson, from Anglo-Norman getteson. Doublet of jettison.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛt.səm/; enPR: jĕtˈ-səm

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: jet‧sam

Noun

jetsam (countable and uncountable, plural jetsams)

1. Items thrown overboard from a ship or boat in distress in order to lighten its load.

   There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris.

2. (by extension) Discarded or leftover odds and ends.

   They were the jetsam of the dot-com bust.

   • 1991 May 30, Emily Gwathmey, “Storage Box: Catchall's New Life as Eye-Catcher”, in The New York Times‎:

     STORAGE boxes -- catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and thingamajigs -- are gaining new interest as decorative objects for the home.

Derived terms

• flotsam and jetsam

Translations

jetsam

Esperanto: fuko Finnish: laidan yli heitetty tavara French: lest (fr) m Georgian: გემიდან ქარიშხლის გადაყრილი ტვირთი (gemidan karišxlis gadaq̇rili ṭvirti) German: Strandgut (de) n Greek: ξέβρασμα (el) n (xévrasma) Maori: titītai Scottish Gaelic: caitheachan m, murrag f Spanish: echazón (es) f, desechos (es) m pl, pecio (es) m

See also

• jetsam on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• flotsam
• flotsam and jetsam
• lagan
• derelict
• salvage

Anagrams

• matjes