Where does “flotsam” come from?
Flotsam derives from Old French floteson, from Old French floter, from Frankish flotōn, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European plew-, meaning to flow or swim.
flotsam (English): Debris floating in a river or sea, in particular...
Definitions
- Debris floating in a river or sea, in particular...
Ancestry of “flotsam”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | floteson | flotsam |
| 2 | Old French | flotaison | a floating |
| 3 | Latin | -ātiō | — |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |