Flotsam and jetsam
These are the terms we use in our house to describe general bits and pieces of detritus. I looked up the definition of these two words and found a third, lagan, unknown to me. They are all associated with the maritime world and have legal definitions to do with defining and establishing claims of ownership.
Flotsam comes from the Old French, ‘floter’ which meant ‘to float.’ It came into use in the early 17th century and described items that had been lost overboard or had risen to the surface from a sunken vessel.
Anyone who finds flotsam is permitted to claim it unless someone else can prove their ownership of it. For example, in 2019, more than a hundred cargo containers were lost from a cargo ship in heavy seas off the German coast. They washed up on the Dutch coast and were judged to be flotsam.
So, flotsam is incidental, unintentional rubbish on the surface of the sea. If things are deliberately cast or jettisoned from a vessel in danger of sinking, in order to lighten its load, it is called jetsam. Jetsam may either float or sink and again, it may be claimed by the person or persons finding it and is not required to be returned to its owner, unless the owner makes a legal claim to it.
Lagan, sometimes called ligan, is differentiated from jetsam by having a marker buoy attached to it, to indicate where it sank, so that it can be recovered. The person who marks the buoy is considered to be the rightful owner.
In an alternative use, Flotsam and Jetsam are an American thrash metal band.
Flotsam and Jetsam are also the names of two moray eels in the Disney film, ‘The Little Mermaid.’
Flotsam and Jetsam were also an early 1980s rock group in Sydney. I didn't like the name because it made them sound a bit dirty and messy, but they had some successful releases.
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