Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To regard as arising from a specified cause or source: synonym: attribute.
  • transitive verb To regard as belonging to or produced by a specified agent, place, or time.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To add in writing; append (one's name) to a document, etc.; subscribe.
  • To inscribe or dedicate.
  • To enroll or register.
  • To attribute, impute, or refer, as to a cause or source; assign; set down: as, losses are often to be ascribed to imprudence.
  • To attribute, as a quality or an appurtenance; consider or allege to belong.
  • Synonyms Attribute, Refer, etc. See attribute.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To attribute, impute, or refer, as to a cause
  • transitive verb To attribute, as a quality, or an appurtenance; to consider or allege to belong.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To attribute a cause or characteristic to someone or something.
  • verb transitive To attribute a book, painting or any work of art or literature to a writer or creator.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb attribute or credit to

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English ascriben, from Old French ascrivre, from Latin ascrībere : ad-, ad- + scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French ascrivre ("inscribe, attribute, impute"), from Latin āscrībō, from ad ("to") + scrībō ("write"), from Proto-Indo-European *skrep-, *skreb- (“to engrave”). Cognate with Old English screpan ("to scrape, scratch"). More at at, scrape.

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