jet·sam

[jet-suhm]
noun
goods cast overboard deliberately, as to lighten a vessel or improve its stability in an emergency, which sink where jettisoned or are washed ashore.
Also, jet·som.
Compare flotsam, lagan.


Origin:
1560–70; alteration of jetson, syncopated variant of jettison

flotsam, jetsam.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
jetsam or jetsom (ˈdʒɛtsəm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  flotsam Compare lagan that portion of the equipment or cargo of a vessel thrown overboard to lighten her, as during a storm
2.  another word for flotsam
 
[C16: shortened from jettison]
 
jetsom or jetsom
 
n
 
[C16: shortened from jettison]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Jetsam is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

jetsam
1570, alteration of M.E. jetteson "act of throwing goods overboard to lighten a ship," from Anglo-Fr. getteson (see jettison). Form perhaps influenced by flotsam. For distinction of meaning, see flotsam.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

jetsam

see flotsam and jetsam.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
The flotsam and jetsam are mere shreds and fragments of wasted lives.
Some of the impact's jetsam must have wound up in that band, where it could
  decently clump.
There was all kinds of flotsam and jetsam in the water.
The other was a vaguely triangular-shaped piece composed of various pieces of
  flotsam, jetsam and old kitchen appliances.
Idioms & Phrases
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