Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

flotsam

/ˈflɑtsəm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.38 in modern English

Syllables: flot-sam
IPA: /ˈflɑtsəm/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Debris floating in a river or sea, in particular fragments from a shipwreck.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"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."
"STORAGE boxes -- catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and thingamajigs -- are gaining new interest as decorative objects for the home."
"“What about that one?” “That'll do nicely. That gaggle of human flotsam doesn't even belong on the sea.”"

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: floteson, flotaison, -atio

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈflɑtsəm/
British English: /ˈflɒtsəm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

flotsams (plural) floatsam (alternative) floatsome (alternative, dialectal) flotson (alternative, dated)

Phrases

flotsam and jetsam

Frequently Paired Words

lagan jetsam derelict salvage

Synonyms

jetsam

Questions

How do you pronounce flotsam?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈflɑtsəm/.
What does flotsam mean?: Debris floating in a river or sea, in particular fragments from a shipwreck.
Where does flotsam come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce flotsam

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “flotsam”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈflɑtsəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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