What does attributing mean?
"Attributing" is the present participle of the verb "attribute," meaning to regard something as being caused by, produced by, or belonging to a particular person or thing. When scientists are attributing rising sea levels to climate change, they are identifying what they believe caused it. The word also carries a second important sense: crediting a work, quotation, or achievement to its creator, as when scholars attribute an unsigned manuscript to a known author. In fields like art history and literary criticism, saying something is "attributed to" a particular artist deliberately signals uncertainty about authorship rather than confirmed fact. The word derives from the Latin tribuere, meaning to assign or allot, sharing roots with words such as "tribute" and "contribution." It typically takes the preposition "to" and is common in formal writing, journalism, research, and legal contexts. Its precision makes it indispensable wherever causes, sources, and responsibilities must be clearly identified and assigned.
verb (present participle of attribute)The present participle of the verb "attribute": to regard something as being caused by, produced by, or belonging to someone or something.
- To regard something as being caused or produced by someone or something (e.g. attributing the delay to traffic).
- To credit a work, saying, or achievement to a particular person as its creator or source (e.g. attributing the quote to Shakespeare).
- To regard a quality or characteristic as belonging to someone or something.
"Scientists are attributing the decline in bee populations to pesticide use."
"The researchers were attributing the rise in temperatures to human activity."
"Historians have long been attributing the anonymous letter to one of Jefferson's contemporaries."
Every time you say a painting is "attributed to" an artist rather than definitively by them, you're hedging like an art historian — that tiny word signals scholarly doubt.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attributing
"Attribute" comes from the Latin attribuere, formed from ad- (toward) plus tribuere (to allot, grant, or assign), the same root that gives us "tribute" and "tributary." The word entered English via Latin, likely through Old French influence, around the late Middle English to early modern period. Cognates appear across Romance languages, including French attribuer and Spanish atribuir. Over time it developed both the sense of assigning cause or responsibility and the sense of crediting authorship.
Related word forms
How attributing is actually used
Formal to neutral register; common in academic, journalistic, and scientific writing. Typically followed by "to" + noun when indicating cause or source. In art and literature contexts, "attributed to" signals uncertain authorship.
Easily confused with attributing
"Ascribing" and "attributing" are near-synonyms, but "ascribe" often carries a slightly more formal tone, while "attribute" more commonly appears when crediting a work or quality to a specific source.