/ ˈflɒtsəm; NAmE ˈflɑːt-/ noun [ U ]
1.
parts of boats, pieces of wood or rubbish / garbage, etc. that are found on land near the sea or floating on the sea; any kind of rubbish / garbage :
The beaches are wide and filled with interesting flotsam and jetsam .
—compare jetsam
2.
people who have no home or job and who move from place to place, often rejected by society :
the human flotsam of inner cities
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent.: from Anglo-Norman French floteson , from floter to float.