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tributary

 
Dictionary: trib·u·tar·y   (trĭb'yə-tĕr'ē) pronunciation
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
adj.
  1. Making additions or yielding supplies; contributory.
  2. Paid in tribute.
  3. Paying tribute: a tributary colony.
n., pl., -ies.
  1. A stream that flows into a larger stream or other body of water.
  2. A ruler or nation that pays tribute.

[Middle English tributarie, paying tribute, from Latin tribūtārius, from tribūtum, tribute. See tribute.]


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Antonyms: tributary
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adj

Definition: secondary; branch
Antonyms: original, primary, source

Word Tutor: tributary
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A branch that flows into the main stream.

pronunciation Greatness means leading the way.- No stream is large and copious of itself, but becomes great by receiving and leading on so many tributary streams. — Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Wikipedia: Tributary
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This article is about a lesser flow of water. For other uses, see Tributary (disambiguation). For other uses of Confluence (which redirects here), see Confluence (disambiguation).
Biała Lądecka, a right tributary of Nysa Kłodzka in Poland, located in the village of Bielice in Lower Silesia

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem (or parent) river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water.

A confluence is where two or more bodies of water meet together, usually referring to the action of tributaries. An affluent is synonymous to the word 'tributary', being defined as a stream or river that simply flows into a larger one.[1]

A parallel to tributaries is the distributary, a river that branches off of and flows away from the main stream.

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Terminology

Walton Creek, a small tributary of the Lochsa River in northeastern Idaho, flowing slightly upstream of its confluence with a larger stream.

'Right tributary' and 'left tributary' (or 'right-bank tributary' and 'left-bank tributary') are terms stating the position of the tributary relative to the flow of the mainstem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream (in the direction the water current is going).

Ordering and enumeration

The 'Pfinz', a right tributary of the Rhine, located in Baden-Württemberg

In orography, tributaries are ordered from those nearest to the source of the river to those nearest to the mouth of the river.

The Strahler Stream Order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third, and higher orders, with the first order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second order tributary would be composed of two or more first order tributaries combining to form the second order tributary.

See also

Search Wiktionary Look up tributary, confluent, or affluent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ "affluent." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 30 Sep. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affluent>.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations: Tributary
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - biflod
adj. - skatskyldig, underordnet, bi-

Nederlands (Dutch)
zijrivier, zij-, schatplichtig

Français (French)
n. - (gén, Géog) affluent, tributaire (sout)
adj. - tributaire, secondaire, tributaire (nation) (sout)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Tributpflichtiger, Nebenfluss, Zufluss
adj. - Steuer...

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (γεωγρ.) παραπόταμος, φόρου υποτελής

Italiano (Italian)
affluente

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tributário (m)

Русский (Russian)
приток (реки), государство, платящее дань, данник

Español (Spanish)
n. - tributario, afluente
adj. - tributario, afluente

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skattskyldig, underlydande, lyd-, bidragande, hjälp-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
进贡国, 支流, 附庸国, 进贡的, 从属的, 附庸的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 進貢國, 支流, 附庸國
adj. - 進貢的, 從屬的, 附庸的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 속국 , 지류, 공물을 바치는 나라
adj. - 속국의, 공헌하는, 지류의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - みつぎを納める, 他国に従属する, 属国の, 貢献する, 支流である, 従属する, 支流の
n. - 進貢者, 支流

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نهر يصب في نهر أكبر منه, الرافد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פלג, יובל, זרוע-נהר, משלם-מס, מדינה משועבדת‬
adj. - ‮מהווה יובל של (נהר), נשפך, זורם, משמש כמס, משלם-מס‬

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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