tribute
TRIB-yootnounMeaning an act, statement or gift that shows respect or admiration
Memory hook TREE-bute: a TREE planted in her honor. When Ms. Ada retires, her students plant an oak in the schoolyard with a sign: “For Ms. Ada, who taught us to wonder.” The tree is a tribute to her.
The concert was a tribute to the town’s beloved music teacher.
In context When the old lighthouse keeper retired, the villagers paid him tribute: they renamed the harbor road in his honor and painted his portrait on the post office wall.
Similar homage, salute, testimonial
Opposite insult, slight
From Latin tributum, “a payment,” from tribuere, “to assign, to pay.”