Tributes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Acts or statements that honor or praise a person or event ; regular payments made by one party to another as a sign of allegiance or submission
2. Expressions intended to show admiration or respect to someone or something ; offerings or payments given to demonstrate loyalty or as a form of acknowledgment
3. Formal acknowledgments or praises given to commemorate or celebrate ; sums paid periodically to a ruler or state as a mark of submission

Etymology: "Tributes" is the plural of "tribute," and the singular has a surprisingly literal past. Its Latin ancestor, "tributum," meant a thing contributed or paid, and it came from "tribuere," meaning to assign or allot. That root is closely tied to "tribus," the Latin word for a division of the people, which is also the source of English "tribe." The link suggests that a tribute was originally a portion handed out or contributed to a community, a payment in kind rather than a gesture of admiration. English took the word through Middle French "tribut" and entered Middle English in the 14th century. Its earliest sense was a payment exacted by one power from another, a sum owed to a ruler or conqueror. The meaning of respect or praise came later, as the idea of an offering shifted from goods handed over under obligation to words or gestures offered freely to honour someone.

Synonyms: homage, salute, commendation, praise

Antonyms: disrespect, insult, denigration, scorn