The word for today is…
flotsam (noun) – 1. Goods floating on the surface of a body of water after a shipwreck or after being cast overboard to lighten the ship.
2. Discarded or unimportant things.
3. People who are considered to be worthless or to have been rejected by society.
Source : The Free Dictionary
Etymology : English speakers started using flotsam, jetsam, and lagan as legal terms in the 16th and 17th centuries (the earliest evidence of flotsam dates from around the early 1600s). The three words were used to establish claims of ownership to the three types of seaborne, vessel-originated goods they named. Flotsam was anything from a shipwreck (the word comes from Old French floter , meaning “to float”). Jetsam and lagan were items thrown overboard to lighten a ship. Lagan was distinguished from jetsam by having a buoy attached so the goods could be found if they sank. In the 19th century, when flotsam and jetsam took on extended meanings, they became synonyms, but they are still very often paired.
If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends.