parts of boats, pieces of wood or rubbish, etc. that are found on land near the sea or floating on the sea; any kind of rubbish （冲上海岸或漂浮海上的）船只残骸，碎木，零碎杂物；废弃物 people who have no home or job and who move from place to place, often rejected by society 无家可归者；失业流浪者 the human flotsam of inner cities 内城区无家可归的流浪者
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Anglo-Norman French floteson, from floter ‘to float’.