Wood that has been carried by water and washed ashore, often smoothed and bleached by the ocean.
From Middle English 'drift' (something carried by current) and 'wood' (the material from trees). The word emerged in the 16th century as sailors and coastal dwellers noticed how ocean currents deposited timber on beaches.
Driftwood tells stories—each piece traveled potentially thousands of miles across oceans, surviving storms and rocky coastlines. Artists prize it because the ocean does the weathering work for free, creating natural sculptures.
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