tributary
English · Thesaurus
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tributary
- /ˈtɹɪbjʊtəɹi/
Where it comes from
PIE word
*tréyes
From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
noun tributaries
-
A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
Similar: affluent, influent · Opposite: distributary
- A vein which drains into another vein. The great saphenous vein is a tributary of the femoral vein.
- A nation, state, or other entity that pays tribute. An earneſt Coniuration from the King, / As England was his faithfull Tributary
adjective
- Related to the paying of tribute.
- Subordinate; inferior. to grace his tributary gods
- 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.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: feeder, secondary, affluent, influent, inlet, function, taxation, hostage, tax, subject, susceptible, dependence, dependent, reliant, reliance, flock
Translations
Every language
noun stream which flows into a larger one
| Español | afluente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 지류 jiryu |
| 日本語 | 支流 shiryū |
| 中文 | 支流 zhīliú |
| Português | afluente |
| Français | affluent |
| Deutsch | Nebenfluss, Zufluss |
| Italiano | affluente, tributario, immissario |
| Ελληνικά | παραπόταμος parapótamos |
| Română | afluent |
| Русский | прито́к pritók |
| Tiếng Việt | phụ lưu |
| العربية | رَافِد rāfid |
| עברית | יוּבַל yuvál |
noun nation, state, etc. that pays tribute
| Español | tributario |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 属国 zokkoku |
| 中文 | 進貢國 /进贡国 jìngòngguó, 附庸國 /附庸国 fùyōngguó, 屬國 /属国 shǔguó, 納貢國 /纳贡国 nàgòngguó |
| Italiano | vassallo |
| Română | tributar |
| Русский | да́нник dánnik |
adj related to the paying of tribute
| Español | tributario |
|---|---|
| Italiano | tributario |
adj yielding supplies of any kind
| Español | contribuyente |
|---|
Talk about this word "tributary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tributary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tributary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tributary "tributary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tributary.Cite this
@misc{tributary_2026,
title = {tributary},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tributary},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}