资料来源 : pyDict

纳贡的,从属的,补助的纳贡者,属国,支流

资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tributary \Trib"u*ta*ry\, a. [OE. tributaire, F. tributaire, L.
   tributarius. See {Tribute}.]
   1. Paying tribute to another, either from compulsion, as an
      acknowledgment of submission, or to secure protection, or
      for the purpose of purchasing peace.

            [Julius] unto Rome made them tributary. --Chaucer.

   2. Hence, subject; subordinate; inferior.

            He to grace his tributary gods.       --Milton.

   3. Paid in tribute. ``Tributary tears.'' --Shak.

   4. Yielding supplies of any kind; serving to form or make up,
      a greater object of the same kind, as a part, branch,
      etc.; contributing; as, the Ohio has many tributary
      streams, and is itself tributary to the Mississippi.

Tributary \Trib"u*ta*ry\, n.; pl. {Tributaries}.
   1. A ruler or state that pays tribute, or a stated sum, to a
      conquering power, for the purpose of securing peace and
      protection, or as an acknowledgment of submission, or for
      the purchase of security.

   2. A stream or river flowing into a larger river or into a
      lake; an affluent.

资料来源 : WordNet®

tributary
     adj 1: of a stream; flowing into a larger stream
     2: paying tribute; "a tributary colony"
     3: tending to bring about; being partly responsible for;
        "working conditions are not conducive to productivity";
        "the seaport was a contributing factor in the growth of
        the city"; "a contributory factor" [syn: {conducive}, {contributing(a)},
         {contributive}, {contributory}]
     n : a branch that flows into the main stream [syn: {feeder}, {affluent}]
         [ant: {distributary}]