flotsam

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word flotsam. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word flotsam, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say flotsam in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word flotsam you have here. The definition of the word flotsam will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition offlotsam, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman floteson, from Old French flotaison (a floating), from floter (to float), of Germanic origin (See float.), + -aison, from Latin -atio.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈflɒtsəm/
    • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒtsəm

Noun

flotsam (countable and uncountable, plural flotsams)

  1. Debris floating in a river or sea, in particular fragments from a shipwreck.
    • 1988 May 9, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Conspiracy (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC:
      WORF: Sensors beginning to pick up small objects, sir.
      PICARD: On screen.
      RIKER: Doesn't look natural.
      PICARD: Agreed. Enlarge and identify.
      WORF: It looks like debris from a space vessel of some kind.
      RIKER: It could be one of those ships that was orbiting Dytallix.
      LA FORGE: We are in close proximity to that planet.
      PICARD: Identify marks Mr. Worf.
      WORF: Nothing so far. Sensors not detecting any bodies in the flotsam. But from the amount of the wreckage, I'm sorry sir, it can only be the Horatio. From the looks of it she's been totally destroyed.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams