tributary

English

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tributary

PIE word
*tréyes

From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).

tributary (plural tributaries)

(hydrology) A natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
Synonyms: affluent, influent

Antonym: distributary
(anatomy) 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.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 259, column 2:
  An earneſt Coniuration from the King, / As England was his faithfull Tributary

stream which flows into a larger one

Arabic: رَافِد m (rāfid)
Belarusian: прыто́к m (prytók)
Bulgarian: прито́к (bg) m (pritók)
Catalan: afluent (ca) m
Cherokee: ᏫᎦᏬᏥᎯᎲ (wigawotsihihv)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 支流 (zh) (zhīliú)
Czech: přítok (cs) m
Danish: biflod (da) c
Dutch: zijrivier (nl) m or f
Esperanto: alfluanto
Faroese: tvørá f, hjáá f
Finnish: sivujoki (fi)
French: affluent (fr) m
German: Nebenfluss (de) m, Zufluss (de) m
Hebrew: יוּבַל (he) m (yuvál)
Icelandic: þverá f, aðrennslisá f
Irish: fo-abhainn f, craobh-abhainn f
Italian: affluente (it) m, tributario (it) m, immissario (it) m
Japanese: 支流 (ja) (しりゅう, shiryū)
Korean: 지류(支流) (ko) (jiryu)
Latvian: ieteka f
Luxembourgish: Niewefloss m
Macedonian: притока f (pritoka)
Manx: crouw f, crouw-awin f, fo-hrooan m
Maori: kautawa
Norwegian:
Bokmål: bielv m or f, sideelv m or f

Nynorsk: sideelv f
Ottoman Turkish: ناصر (nâsır)
Polish: dopływ (pl) m
Portuguese: afluente (pt) m
Romanian: afluent (ro) m
Russian: прито́к (ru) m (pritók)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: приток m, притока f

Roman: pritok (sh) m, pritoka (sh) f
Slovak: prítok m
Slovene: pritok m
Spanish: afluente (es) m
Swedish: biflod (sv) c
Thai: แคว (th) (kwɛɛ)
Tok Pisin: hanwara
Ukrainian: прито́ка f (prytóka)
Vietnamese: phụ lưu

nation, state etc.

Chinese:
Mandarin: 進貢國／进贡国 (jìngòngguó), 附庸國／附庸国 (zh) (fùyōngguó), 屬國／属国 (zh) (shǔguó)
Dutch: vazalstaat (nl) m
Finnish: vasallivaltio (fi)
Georgian: მოხარკე (moxarḳe)
Italian: vassallo (it) m
Japanese: 属国 (ja) (ぞっこく, zokkoku)
Romanian: tributar (ro) m
Russian: да́нник (ru) m (dánnik)
Spanish: tributario (es) m

tributary (not comparable)

Related to the paying of tribute.
Subordinate; inferior.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
  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.

related to the paying of tribute

subordinate, inferior — see subordinate,‎ inferior

yielding supplies of any kind