at·trib·ute • v. / əˈtriˌbyoōt/ [tr.] (attribute something to) regard something as being caused by (someone or something): he attributed the firm's success to the efforts of the director. ∎  ascribe a work or remark to (a particular author, artist, or speaker): the building was attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright. ∎  regard a quality or feature as characteristic of or possessed by (someone or something): ancient peoples attributed magic properties to certain stones.• n. (at·tri·bute) / ˈatrəˌbyoōt/ a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something: flexibility and mobility are the key attributes of our army. ∎  a material object recognized as symbolic of a person, esp. a conventional object used in art to identify a saint or mythical figure. ∎  Gram. an attributive adjective or noun. ∎  Statistics a real property that a statistical analysis is attempting to describe.DERIVATIVES: at·trib·ut·a·ble / əˈtribyətəbəl/ adj.at·tri·bu·tion / ˌatrəˈbyoōshən/ n.

attribute A defined property of an entity, object, etc. In computer graphics it is a particular property that applies to a graphical output primitive; lines have attributes such as line width, color, and line style. See also ERA model, inheritance.

attribute sb. XV. — (O)F. attribut or L. attribūtum, sb. use of n. pp. of attribuere, f. AT- + tribuere allot (cf. TRIBUTE).
So attribute vb. XVI. f. the pp. stem. attribution XV. — (O)F. — L. attributive XVII. — F.

attribute. Object expressing the authority or character of a personage (mythical or otherwise) or a deity, used to suggest the use of a building. A lyre represents Apollo, a dove Venus, a grid-iron St Lawrence, a flaying-knife St Bartholomew, and a trident Neptune. Thus lyres are found on concert-halls and tridents on buildings associated with marine affairs.