tributary.
A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
Meaning & usage
A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
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.
Where this word comes from
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
Related to the paying of tribute.
Subordinate; inferior.
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.
Where this word comes from
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.