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Webster 1913 Edition


Attribute

At-trib′ute

(ăt′trĭ-būt)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Attributed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Attributing
.]
[L.
attributus
, p. p. of
attribuere
;
ad
+
tribuere
to bestow. See
Tribute
.]
To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate (to); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging (to).
We
attribute
nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it.
Abp. Tillotson.
The merit of service is seldom
attributed
to the true and exact performer.
Shakespeare
Syn. – See
Ascribe
.

At′tri-bute

,
Noun.
[L.
attributum
.]
1.
That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic.
But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . .
It is an
attribute
to God himself.
Shakespeare
2.
Reputation.
[Poetic]
Shakespeare
3.
(Paint. & Sculp.)
A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure;
as, a club is the
attribute
of Hercules
.
4.
(Gram.)
Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.

Webster 1828 Edition


Attribute

ATTRIB'UTE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. attribuo; ad and tribuo, to divide, to bestow, to assign; tribus, a tribe, division or ward. See Tribe.]
1.
To allot or attach, in contemplation; to ascribe; to consider as belonging.
We attribute nothing to God, that contains a contradiction.
2.
To give as due; to yield as an act of the mind; as, to attribute to God all the glory of redemption.
3.
To impute, as to a cause; as, our misfortunes are generally to be attributed to our follies or imprudence.

Definition 2024


Attribute

Attribute

See also: attribute

German

Noun

Attribute

  1. plural of Attribut

attribute

attribute

See also: Attribute

English

Noun

attribute (plural attributes)

  1. A characteristic or quality of a thing.
    His finest attribute is his kindness.
  2. (grammar) A word that qualifies a noun, a qualifier.
    In the clause "My jacket is more expensive than yours", "My" is the attribute of "jacket".
  3. (logic) That which is predicated or affirmed of a subject; a predicate; an accident.
  4. (computing, object-oriented programming) An option or setting belonging to some object.
    This packet has its coherency attribute set to zero.
    A file with the read-only attribute set cannot be overwritten.
  5. (computing, programming) A semantic item with which a method or other code element may be decorated.
    Properties can marked as obsolete with an attribute, which will cause the compiler to generate a warning if they are used.
  6. (computer graphics, dated) A numeric value representing the colours of part of the screen display.
    • 1987, Marcus Berkmann, Sceptre Of Bagdad (video game review) in Your Sinclair issue 17
      [] you can only carry two objects, your attributes clash when you walk past multi-coloured objects and your enemies fly up and down from the ceiling.
    • 1989, PC: The Independent Guide to IBM Personal Computers
      If any of the video buffer's background attribute bits are on, MONO converts the attribute to 70h (inverse video).

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:characteristic

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

attribute (third-person singular simple present attributes, present participle attributing, simple past and past participle attributed)

  1. To ascribe (something) to a given cause, reason etc.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book IV, chapter i
      For as this is the liquor of modern historians, nay, perhaps their muse, if we may believe the opinion of Butler, who attributes inspiration to ale, it ought likewise to be the potation of their readers, since every book ought to be read with the same spirit and in the same manner as it is writ.
  2. To associate ownership or authorship of (something) to someone.
    This poem is attributed to Browning.
    • Archbishop Tillotson
      We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it.
    • 1604, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act III
      It is to be recovered: but that the merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer, I would have that drum or another, or hic jacet.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 278:
      Hākim's atypical actions should not be attributed to Islam as much as to insanity, which eventually led him to proclaim himself as Allah, whereupon he was murdered by outraged fellow Muslims.

Derived terms

Translations


Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /at.triˈbuː.te/, [at.trɪˈbuː.tɛ]

Adjective

attribūte

  1. vocative masculine singular of attribūtus