Etymograph

English

jetsam

Jetsam comes from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-1‘to throw’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400getteson1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jetteson1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1991jetsam1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English jetsam
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Emily Gwathmey, Storage Box: Catchall's New Life as Eye-Catcher: “STORAGE boxes -- catchalls for flotsam, jetsam, whatnots and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yeh₁-Wiktionary, English jetsam‘to throw’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400gettesonWiktionary, English jetsam
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jettesonWiktionary, English jetsam
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1991jetsamWiktionary, English jetsam. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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, 42 more

through Anglo-Norman getteson

jettison

Today it means

noun Items thrown overboard from a ship or boat in distress in order to lighten its load.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jetsam”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- / jetsam

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