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- Dictionarytributary/ˈtrɪbjʊt(ə)ri/
noun
- 1. a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake: "the Illinois River, a tributary of the Mississippi"
- 2. a person or state that pays tribute to another state or ruler: historical "tributaries of the Ottoman Empire"
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A tributary was originally a person or state that owed tribute to a more powerful person or state. Ancient China, for instance, had dozens of tributary states, and the emperor would receive elephants from Siam or young girls from Korea as tribute.
TRIBUTARY definition: 1. a river or stream that flows into a larger river or a lake: 2. a river or stream that flows…. Learn more.
TRIBUTARY meaning: 1. a river or stream that flows into a larger river or a lake: 2. a river or stream that flows…. Learn more.
Tributary definition: a stream that flows to a larger stream or other body of water.. See examples of TRIBUTARY used in a sentence.
5 meanings: 1. a stream, river, or glacier that feeds another larger one 2. a person, nation, or people that pays tribute 3..... Click for more definitions.
Definition of tributary noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
The noun tributary is related to the word tribute and both come from the Latin word tributum, meaning “a thing contributed or paid.” Long ago, a tributary was someone who was forced to pay a person or group in return for protection — namely from those who received the tribute.
1. (Physical Geography) a stream, river, or glacier that feeds another larger one. 2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a person, nation, or people that pays tribute. adj. 3. (Physical Geography) (of a stream, etc) feeding a larger stream. 4. given or owed as a tribute. 5. paying tribute. ˈtributarily adv.
Jun 2, 2024 · Yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up, a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch, etc.; contributing. The Ohio has many tributary streams, and is itself tributary to the Mississippi.
A confluence, where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. [5] Distributaries are most often found in river deltas .
