English
jetsam
Jetsam comes from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-‘to throw’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400getteson
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jetteson
- Englishearliest quotation 1991jetsam
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-‘to throw’root as named · steps between not traced
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400getteson
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jetteson
- Englishearliest quotation 1991jetsam
Earliest quotation: 1991, Emily Gwathmey, Storage Box: Catchall's New Life as Eye-Catcher: “STORAGE boxes -- catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’
year, hour, project, disease, ease, object, adjacent, injection, jet, trajectory, jess, inject, gist, conjecture, catheter, ejaculation, ejection, enema, abject, eject, ejaculate, jut, jetty, subjection, joist, interject, iambic, 43 more
through Anglo-Norman getteson
Today it means
noun Items thrown overboard from a ship or boat in distress in order to lighten its load.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- / jetsam