FLOTSAM


Meaning of FLOTSAM in English

/ 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

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WORD ORIGIN

early 17th cent.: from Anglo-Norman French floteson , from floter to float.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.