helping to cause something 促成的；促进的；起作用的 Alcohol is a contributory factor in 10 per cent of all road accidents. 酒精是10%的交通事故的促成因素。 Smoking is a contributory cause of many diseases. 吸烟是许多疾病的成因之一。 - (British English)
He was found guilty of contributory negligence (= that helped to cause an accident). 他被判犯有共同过失罪。
involving payments from the people who will benefit 需要受益人付钱的 a contributory pension scheme/plan (= paid for by both employers and employees) 由雇主与雇员共同出资的养老金计划 contributory benefits (= ones that you make payments for) 共醵抚恤金。
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘contributing to a fund’): from medieval Latin contributorius, from Latin contribut- ‘added’, from the verb contribuere, from con- ‘with’ + tribuere ‘bestow’.