I. ˈtribyəˌterē, -ri adjective
Etymology: Middle English tributarie, from Latin tributarius, from tributum tribute + -arius -ary
1.
a. : paying tribute to another to acknowledge submission, to obtain protection, or to purchase peace
bringing one territory under the domination of the other, making it tributary , or capturing its wealth — Notes & Queries on Anthropology
b. : subject , dependent , subordinate
no conquering race ever lived … among a tributary one without begetting children on it — A.T.Quiller-Couch
the freight rates and the tariffs which were to keep the South a tributary section — Current Biography
the elimination of poverty and the furtherance of social justice would in themselves cure all the tributary maladjustments — Oscar Handlin
2. : paid or owed as tribute : of the nature of tribute
3. : providing with or serving as a channel for supplies or additional matter
receiving two tributary lanes from who should say what remote hamlets — Compton Mackenzie
a tributary stream
tributary to the city are approximately 30,000,000,000 feet of pine timber — American Guide Series: Oregon
II. noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English tributarie, from Late Latin tributarius, from Latin, adjective, tributary
1. : a person (as a ruler) or state that pays tribute to a conquering power
all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee — Deut 20:11 (Authorized Version)
2. : one that is tributary to another: as
a. : a stream feeding a larger stream or a lake — compare branch
b. : a vein that empties into a larger vein