attribute

 

verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtrɪbjuːt/
[with object] (attribute something to)
  • regard something as being caused by: he attributed the firm’s success to the efforts of the managing director his resignation was attributed to stress
  • ascribe a work or remark to (a particular author, artist, or speaker): the building was attributed to Inigo Jones
  • regard a quality or feature as characteristic of or possessed by: ancient peoples attributed magic properties to certain stones

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈatrɪbjuːt/
  • 1a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something: flexibility and mobility are the key attributes of Britain’s army
  • a material object recognized as symbolic of a person, especially a conventional object used in art to identify a saint or mythical figure: it was not until the end of the fifteenth century that the sandglass was depicted as the attribute of Father Time
  • 2 Computing a piece of information which determines the properties of a field or tag in a database or a string of characters in a display.
  • 3 Grammar an attributive adjective or noun.
  • 4 Statistics a real property which a statistical analysis is attempting to describe.

Derivatives

attributable

Pronunciation: /əˈtrɪbjʊtəb(ə)l/
adjective

attribution

Pronunciation: /atrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n/
noun

attributional

adjective

Origin:

late 15th century: the noun from Old French attribut; the verb from Latin attribut- 'allotted': both from the verb attribuere, from ad- 'to' + tribuere 'assign'