tributary
noun
- small river that flows into a larger one
adjective
- stream or river that flows into a main stem river or lake
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈtɹɪbjʊtəɹi/
adj
Etymology: PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
- 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.”
noun
Etymology: PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
- 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.
“An earneſt Coniuration from the King, / As England was his faithfull Tributary”