adj paid in tribute.
2. tributary ·adj hence, subject; subordinate; inferior.
3. tributary ·noun a stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a lake; an affluent.
4. tributary ·adj paying tribute to another, either from compulsion, as an acknowledgment of submission, or to secure protection, or for the purpose of purchasing peace.
5. tributary ·noun a ruler or state that pays tribute, or a stated sum, to a conquering power, for the purpose of securing peace and protection, or as an acknowledgment of submission, or for the purchase of security.
6. tributary ·adj yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up, a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch, ·etc.; contributing; as, the ohio has many tributary streams, and is itself tributary to the mississippi.