Tributary Meaning
/ˈtɹɪbjʊtəɹi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA natural water stream that flows into a larger river or other body of water.
nounA vein which drains into another vein.
Sentence Examples
During the 15th century, the Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of Imperial China.
The Oste is a tributary of the River Elbe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The small creek acts as a ____ to the big river, bringing water from the hills.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small stream is a ____ of the river, flowing into the main channel just a few miles from the coast today.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *tréyes From Middle English tributarie (“paying tribute”), from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum (“tribute”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"An earneſt Coniuration from the King, / As England was his faithfull Tributary"
— 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:
"to grace his tributary gods"
— 1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [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:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The small creek acts as a ____ to the big river, bringing water from the hills.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small stream is a ____ of the river, flowing into the main channel just a few miles from the coast today.