Dictionary

lagan en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈlæɡən/

Etymology

Per Littré, from Old French lagan, from Medieval Latin laga maris (“law of the sea”), from Old Norse lǫg (“law”) and Latin maris (“of the sea”)

Meanings

1. (uncountable) Goods or materials found or left on the sea floor, attached to a floating marker that indicates ownership.
   • The country folk, who were prowling about the shore after the waifs of the storm, deserted jetsom and lagend, and crowded to meet the richer prize. 1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 6, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 129:
   • "Lagan" was a word already in use, recorded as early as 1200, from a Scandinavian word family for things that lie deep. It is recorded again in 1531 to signify cargo that has sunk and lies on the bottom of the ocean, but might yet be reclaimed. 2015, Anne Harris, "Oceanic Valuation", in Oceanic New York, Punctum Books, page 163:
   • Lagan are those things that are intentionally jettisoned, as well, but which sink below the surface, possibly marked by a buoy or a line. 2022, Lara Messersmith-Glavin, Spirit Things, London: University Press of Colorado, pages 101-112:

Forms

Relateds

jetsam · flotsam · waveson · salvage · derelict