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to regard as resulting from a specified cause; consider as caused by something indicated (usually followed by to):
She attributed his bad temper to ill health.
to consider as a quality or characteristic of the person, thing, group, etc., indicated:
He attributed intelligence to his colleagues.
to consider as made by the one indicated, especially with strong evidence but in the absence of conclusive proof:
to attribute a painting to an artist.
to regard as produced by or originating in the time, period, place, etc., indicated; credit; assign:
to attribute a work to a particular period; to attribute a discovery to a particular country.
something attributed as belonging to a person, thing, group, etc.; a quality, character, characteristic, or property:
Sensitivity is one of his attributes.
something used as a symbol of a particular person, office, or status:
A scepter is one of the attributes of a king.
Grammar. a word or phrase that is syntactically subordinate to another and serves to limit, identify, particularize, describe, or supplement the meaning of the form with which it is in construction. In the red house, red is an attribute of house.
Fine Arts. an object associated with or symbolic of a character, office, or quality, as the keys of St. Peter or the lion skin of Hercules.
Philosophy. (in the philosophy of Spinoza) any of the essential qualifications of God, thought and extension being the only ones known.
Compare 1 (def 4b).
Logic. (in a proposition) that which is affirmed or denied concerning the subject.
Obsolete. distinguished character; reputation.
Contemporary Examples

But Netanyahu shows why we should be careful not to attribute too much cunning to those in power.
Netanyahu, Third-Term Incompetent Gershom Gorenberg August 25, 2013

You attribute a part of the decline of violence to the forces of modernity and enlightenment.
The End of World Violence? Sam Harris October 3, 2011

But today, such an attribute is considered normal—modesty has become a liability.
Is It Time to Redefine Narcissism? Casey Schwartz December 2, 2010

How can I attribute such overriding importance to an ill-fated bit of entertainment?
Romney Camp Defends Eastwood Howard Kurtz August 30, 2012

People like to attribute laziness to his flowing dreadlocks and his baggy uniform and not running out the pop flies.
Why Manny Ramirez Hates Fans Will Doig March 8, 2009

Historical Examples

That we must attribute to cats the estimable virtue of benevolence, Mrs F— gives me two anecdotes to prove.
Stories of Animal Sagacity W.H.G. Kingston

He was very irreligious, and entirely wanting in every attribute of a Christian.
Biography of a Slave Charles Thompson

Perhaps a slight visionariness of speculation was no less the attribute of Mrs. Mill than an absence of rigid logical principles.
On Liberty John Stuart Mill

The human soul is an attribute of God, as is everything else; it is an attribute of God in His power.
Initiation into Philosophy Emile Faguet

Naturally the East is inclined to conservative pessimism—an attribute of advancing years—and the West to impulsive optimism.
In the Oregon Country George Palmer Putnam

verb (əˈtrɪbjuːt)
(transitive) usually foll by to. to regard as belonging (to), produced (by), or resulting (from); ascribe (to): to attribute a painting to Picasso
noun (ˈætrɪˌbjuːt)
a property, quality, or feature belonging to or representative of a person or thing
an object accepted as belonging to a particular office or position
(grammar)

an adjective or adjectival phrase
an attributive adjective

(logic) the property, quality, or feature that is affirmed or denied concerning the subject of a proposition
v.

late 14c., “assign, bestow,” from Latin attributus, past participle of attribuere “assign to, add, bestow;” figuratively “to attribute, ascribe, impute,” from ad- “to” + tribuere “assign, give, bestow” (see tribute). Related: Attributed; attributing.
n.

“quality ascribed to someone,” late 14c., from Latin attributum “anything attributed,” noun use of neuter of attributus (see attribute (v.)). Distinguished from the verb by pronunciation.

data
A named value or relationship that exists for some or all instances of some entity and is directly associated with that instance.
Examples include the href attribute of an HTML anchor element, the columns of a database table considered as attributes of each row, and the members (properties and methods of an object in OOP. This contrasts with the contents of some kind of container (e.g. an array), which are typically not named. The contents of an associative array, though they might be considered to be named by their key values, are not normally thought of as attributes.
(2001-02-04)