D defs.my
Entry 3 senses Webster, 1913

Subsidy

/sŭb'-sĭd-ē/ · Sub·si·dy · IPA /ˈsʌbsɪdi/
01 n. Support; aid; cooperation; esp., extraordinary aid in money rendered to the sovereign or to a friendly power.
pl. Subsidies ((#))
  1. 1.
    Support; aid; cooperation; esp., extraordinary aid in money rendered to the sovereign or to a friendly power.
    “They advised the king to send speedy aids, and with much alacrity granted a great rate of subsidy.” Bacon.
  2. 2.
    Specifically: A sum of money paid by one sovereign or nation to another to purchase the cooperation or the neutrality of such sovereign or nation in war.
  3. 3.
    A grant from the government, from a municipal corporation, or the like, to a private person or company to assist the establishment or support of an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public; a subvention; as, a subsidy to the owners of a line of ocean steamships.
Syn. Tribute; grant.
Subsidy, Tribute. A subsidy is voluntary; a tribute is exacted.