Flotsam Definition
Flotsam and jetsam definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Flotsam and jetsam are marine debris found in the oceans of the world. The difference between jetsam and flotsam is related to whether the debris was thrown into the sea deliberately or was involuntarily cast into sea. They were previously given separate significance on the basis of specific nautical meanings with legal consequences. What does flotsam mean? Discarded or unimportant things. Flotsam is usually the result of a shipwreck. Under maritime law, flotsam remains the property of its original owners, while jetsam, which is deliberately thrown overboard in an emergency, is the property of its finder. FLOTSAM Meaning: 'a floating' (Modern French flottaison), from floter 'to float, set afloat' (of Germanic origin and See definitions of flotsam.
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flotsam and jetsam
1. Literally, the items that have been lost (flotsam) or discarded (jetsam) from a ship that has capsized or sunk. Investigators are busy picking through all the flotsam and jetsam that washed ashore after the crash.
2. Jumbled sundry items. We need to move all the flotsam and jetsam out of these drawers. I mean, cough drops and batteries probably shouldn't be stored together anyway.
3. Things that are unnecessary or trivial. Imagine all that I could remember if flotsam and jetsam like the lyrics to every Disney song weren't taking up space in my head!
4. Homeless people. City council may have forgotten about our flotsam and jetsam, but some of us still make volunteering at the homeless shelter a priority.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
flotsam and jetsam
1.Lit. the floating wreckage of a ship and its cargo, or floating cargo deliberately cast overboard to stabilize a ship in a rough sea. All sorts of flotsam and jetsam washed up on the beach.
2.Fig. worthless matter; worthless encumbrances. His mind is burdened with the flotsam and jetsam of many years of poor instruction and lax study habits.Your report would be better if you could get rid of a lot of the flotsam and jetsam and clean up the grammar a bit.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
flotsam and jetsam
1. Discarded odds and ends, as in Most of our things have been moved to the new house, but there's still some flotsam and jetsam to sort . [Mid-1800s]
2. Destitute, homeless individuals, as in The mayor was concerned about the flotsam and jetsam of the inner city. [Second half of 1900s] Both words originated in 17th-century sailing terminology. Flotsam literally meant 'wreckage or cargo that remains afloat after a ship has sunk.' Jetsam meant 'goods thrown overboard from a ship in danger of sinking in order to give it more buoyancy.' Both literal meanings remain current, although the distinction between them is often forgotten.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
flotsam and jetsam
Flotsam and jetsam is used to refer to small or unimportant items that are found together, usually in an untidy way. We found cornflake packets, bottles, and all the flotsam and jetsam of the kitchen. Note: The phrase `flotsam and jetsam' was originally used to describe things that were washed onto the shore from the sea, for instance after a shipwreck.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
flotsam and jetsam
useless or discarded objects.Flotsam refers to the wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on or washed up by the sea, while jetsam is unwanted material thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore. The two nouns are seldom used independently, almost always appearing together in this phrase.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
ˌflotsam and ˈjetsam
1 parts of boats, pieces of wood or rubbish, etc. that are found floating on the sea or along the shore; any kind of rubbish: The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam.
2 people who have no home or job and who move from place to place, often rejected by society: Under the bridge, you see the human flotsam and jetsam of a big city.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
flotsam and jetsam
Odds and ends; trash. These words for a ship’s wreckage and cargo floating at sea (flotsam, from the Old French floter, to float) and goods thrown overboard to lighten a ship (jetsam, from the French jeter, to throw) date from the early sixteenth century. Only in the nineteenth century were they used figuratively, for odds and ends of things as well as for human vagrants. Several twentieth-century humorists punned on them, including the poet Ogden Nash (No Doctors Today, Thank You, 1942): “Does anybody want any flotsam? I’ve gotsam. Does anybody want any jetsam? I’ll getsam.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
flot·sam
Flotsam Definition Oxford
(flŏt′səm)n.1. Goods floating on the surface of a body of water after a shipwreck or after being cast overboard to lighten the ship.
2. Discarded or unimportant things: 'Keyrings, bookmarks ... gum, scissors, paper clips ... pencils and pads stolen from various hotels: all this detritus, this flotsam of a life being lived at full throttle'(David Leavitt).
3. People who are considered to be worthless or to have been rejected by society.
[Anglo-Norman floteson, from Old French floter, to float, of Germanic origin; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
flotsam
(ˈflɒtsəm
) n1. (Nautical Terms) wreckage from a ship found floating. Compare jetsam1, lagan
2. useless or discarded objects; odds and ends (esp in the phrase flotsam and jetsam)
[C16: from Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
flot•sam
(ˈflɒt səm)n.
1. the part of the wreckage of a ship and its cargo found floating on the water. Compare jetsam, lagan.
3. useless or unimportant items; odds and ends.
Also called flot′sam and jet′sam (for defs. 3, 4).[1600–10; < Anglo-French floteson, derivative of floter to float < Germanic; see float]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
flotsam
material floating on the sea, especially debris or goods from ship-wrecks. Cf. jetsam.
See also: Ships-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Flotsam
parts of wreckage of a ship or cargo found floating on the sea, 1607; of odds and ends, 1861. See also jetsam.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
| Noun | 1. | flotsam - the floating wreckage of a ship wreckage - the remaining parts of something that has been wrecked; 'they searched the wreckage for signs of survivors' |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
flotsam
noundebris, sweepings, rubbish, junk, wreckage, detritus, odds and ends, jetsamThe water was full of flotsam and refuse.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
flotsam
[ˈflɒtsəm]Nflotsam and jetsam → restosmpl (de naufragio) (Tech) (frmFlotsam Definition In Reading
) → peciosmplCollins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
flotsam
[ˈflɒtsəm]n (= floating rubbish) → déchetsmplflottants, déchetsmplà la dérive
flotsam and jetsam (= floating rubbish) → déchetsmplflottants (= odds and ends) → objetsmplhétéroclites, déchetsmpl
flotsam and jetsam (= floating rubbish) → déchetsmplflottants (= odds and ends) → objetsmplhétéroclites, déchetsmpl
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
flotsam
n → Treibgutnt; he was another of the city’s flotsam → er gehörte auch zu den Gestrandeten der Stadt; flotsam and jetsam (floating) → Treibgutnt; (washed ashore) → Strandgutnt; the flotsam and jetsam of our society → die Gestrandetenpl → or das Strandgut unserer Gesellschaft
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
flotsam
[ˈflɒtsəm]nflotsam and jetsam → rifiutimplportati dal mare (people) → relittimplCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
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