n.
Pronunciation: ' flät-s ə m
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French floteson, from floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship
Date: circa 1607
1 : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo broadly : floating debris
2 a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) <human flotsam > b : miscellaneous or unimportant material <a notebook filled with flotsam and jetsam> c : DEBRIS , REMAINS <the village ⋯ built on the flotsam of war ― Stan Sesser>