jettison

Meanings

Noun

• Items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon.
• The action of jettisoning items.

Verb

• To eject from a boat, submarine, aircraft, spaceship or hot-air balloon, so as to lighten the load.
• To let go or get rid of as being useless or defective.

Origin

• From Anglo-Norman getteson, from Old French getaison, from geter, jeter (modern French: would be *jetaison like pendaison); possibly from a Vulgar Latin, from *iectātus < iectāre, from Latin iactō. jetsam.