Paying tribute to another, either from compulsion, as an acknowledgment of submission, or to secure protection, or for the purpose of purchasing peace. [Julius] unto Rome made them tributary. Chaucer.
Hence, subject; subordinate; inferior. He to grace his tributary gods. Milton.
Paid in tribute. "Tributary tears." Shak.
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.
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.
A stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a lake; an affluent.
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