rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryjetsamDiscarded goods
noun

jetsam

JET-sum/ˈdʒetsəm/

Unwanted goods thrown away, especially overboard from a ship.

Pieces of jetsam wash ashore after the crew discards damaged cargo.

Discarded shipboard goods washed onto a quiet shore: an empty wooden cargo crate, a coil of rope, and a dented metal pail resting at the edge of a receding wave.
Etymology
jetsamLatinact of throwing

An “act of throwing” referred here to throwing goods overboard to lighten a ship. The name shifted from the action to the discarded goods, and then more broadly to discarded odds and ends.

In context

Howard Ibach8:03
hanging on to like some Flotsam and Jetsam and you're just in a stormy sea
E90: This nebulous thing called "strategy."

More examples

  • The sailors spot jetsam floating beside their damaged ship.
  • Volunteers clear plastic bottles and other jetsam from the beach.
  • The vacant lot is littered with the jetsam of abandoned homes.

Similar words

flotsam
Floats from wrecked ships rather than being deliberately thrown overboard.
debris
Covers scattered fragments and wreckage, whether discarded or not.
refuse
Means discarded waste generally, without any connection to ships.