TRIBUTE

noun Etymology: Middle English tribut, from Latin tributum, from neuter of tributus, past participle of tribuere to allot, bestow, grant, pay, from tribus tribe Date: 14th century 1. a payment by one ruler or nation to another in acknowledgment of submission or as the price of protection, b. an excessive tax, rental, or tariff imposed by a government, sovereign, lord, or landlord, an exorbitant charge levied by a person or group having the power of coercion, the liability to pay ~, 2. something given or con~d voluntarily as due or deserved, something (as material evidence or a formal attestation) that indicates the worth, virtue, or effectiveness of the one in question , see: encomium