# tribute

Pronunciation: say "TRIB-yoot" /ˈtɹɪbjuːt/

## Noun

1. An act, statement, or gift that expresses gratitude, respect, or admiration toward someone.
   - Simple: An act, words, or gift that shows you respect or admire someone.
   - _The orchestra performed a moving tribute to its late conductor._
   - _Colleagues paid tribute to her decades of quiet service to the community._
2. A homage made within a creative work that honors another work or its creator.
   - Simple: A part of a film, book, or song made to honor another work or its creator.
   - _The closing scene is a clear tribute to the silent films of the 1920s._
   - _Critics read the novel's structure as a deliberate tribute to its author's mentor._
3. A payment made by one nation to another as a sign of submission or dependence.
   - Simple: Money or goods one country must pay to a stronger country to show it has given in.
   - _Conquered provinces paid annual tribute to Rome in grain and gold._
   - _The treaty forced the weaker state to deliver tribute to its powerful neighbor._
4. A payment rendered by a feudal vassal to his lord in return for the land he held.
   - Simple: Money or goods a person had to pay to the lord who owned the land they farmed.
   - _Every spring the villagers carried their tribute of grain to the manor._
   - _The baron collected tribute from the vassals who farmed his estates._
5. Money extorted under threat; protection money paid to avoid harm.
   - Simple: Money paid to a criminal so they will not hurt you or your business.
   - _The market traders quietly paid tribute to the racketeers each Friday._
   - _When the owner stopped paying tribute, his warehouse mysteriously caught fire._
6. A share of the mined ore, or of its value, paid to the miner as wages.
   - Simple: A share of the ore a miner digs up, or its value, given to them as pay.
   - _Under the old contracts, miners earned their tribute as a percentage of the ore extracted._
   - _A skilled team could make a good living on tribute when the lode ran rich._

## Verb

7. To pay or hand over something as tribute.
   - Simple: To give money or goods to a ruler or lord as a required payment.
   - _The provinces tribute grain and livestock to the central authority every autumn._
   - _For generations the clan tributed horses to the khan in exchange for peace._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Ellipsis of cum tribute.

## Origin

It came through Middle English tribut and Old French tribut from Latin tributum ("tribute," literally "a thing contributed or paid"), the neuter of tributus, past participle of tribuō ("to assign, allot"), usually traced back to tribus ("tribe").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/tribute (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).