Definition of: tributary

(trib′yə·ter′ē) adjective
1. Bringing supply; contributory; subsidiary: a tributary stream.
2. Offered or due as tribute; having the character of tribute: a tributary payment.
3. Paying tribute; hence, subordinate, as a state.
—noun plural ·tar·ies
1. A person or state paying tribute; a dependent.
2. A stream flowing into another; an affluent. [<L tributarius <tributum. See TRIBUTE.]
—trib′u·tar′i·ly adverb
—trib′u·tar′i·ness noun