What is the difference between flotsam and jetsam?

Answer by  TexasEm (311)

Flotsam is debris floating in the water from a shipwreck. Jetsam is debris floating in the water that has been purposefully discarded from a ship (like trash).

Answer by  kipcat (1964)

Flotsam is a noun used to describe wreckage that is afloat in the water and jetsam is a noun used to describe wreckage that is thrown overboard to make the load lighter, or wreckage that is found washed up along a shore. So one is floating and the other is grounded.

Answer by  loes (87)

Jetsam is any debris in the sea that has been deliberately thrown overboard. Flotsam is floating debris that has accidently gone overboard.