jetsam

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English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛtsəm/
  • Hyphenation: jet‧sam

Noun

jetsam (countable and uncountable, plural jetsams)

  1. Articles thrown overboard from a ship or boat in order to lighten the load of a ship in distress.
    There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris.
  2. (by extension) Discarded odds and ends.
    They were the jetsam of the dot-com bust.

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