jettison

/ˈd͡ʒɛɾəsən/

Etymology

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

jettison means items that have been or are about to be ejected from a boat or balloon. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.

Why this word is great

JETTISON — [Verb] To discard or cast material or an idea overboard from a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle to lighten it, or more generally to abandon something burdensome or superfluous. From Anglo-Norman getteson, from Old French getaison ("a throwing"), from geter, jeter ("to throw"), from a Vulgar Latin base *iectāre, a frequentative of Latin iactō ("I throw, hurl"). Doublet of jetsam. Unlike "discard," a casual disposal, or "abandon," a quiet desertion, to jettison is to enact a violent calculus of survival—a purposeful shedding under duress. It is the fuel drum tumbling into the ink-dark sea, the cherished cargo shoved from the trembling cargo bay door, the once-cherished principle publicly renounced to save the campaign. This is the formal admission that to continue carrying the weight is to ensure the fall.

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.“The ballooners had to jettison all of their sand bags to make it over the final hill.”
To let go or get rid of as being useless or defective.“Among the most modern of all the Pacific stock in Great Britain is the stud of "Merchant Navy" and "West Country" Pacifics on the Southern Region, and the rebuilding which is now being carried out, preserving all the best features of the Bulleid designs—such as the free-steaming boiler—and jettisoning the features that have given trouble, in particular the chain-driven valve-motion, should give th”