jetsam

What it means

1. countableuncountableItems thrown overboard from a ship or boat in distress in order to lighten its load.

   There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris.

2. broadlycountableuncountableDiscarded or leftover odds and ends.

   They were the jetsam of the dot-com bust.

   1 more example

   STORAGE boxes -- catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and thingamajigs -- are gaining new interest as decorative objects for the home.

   1991 May 30, Emily Gwathmey, “Storage Box: Catchall's New Life as Eye-Catcher”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Dec 2024

In a sentence

There she was, floating amongst the jetsam, like so much debris.

Where it comes from

1. Anglo-Normangetteson
2. Middle Englishjetteson
3. Englishjetsam

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