attribution

/ˌætrɪˈbjuʃən/

Other forms: attributions

"A wise man once said..." Ever wonder who said that famous quotation? Then you're curious about its attribution. An attribution identifies a source or cause of something — in this case, the person who first said the quote.

Attribution often involves identifying the author or source of written material or a work of art. If you want to prove that painting you found in your basement is a van Gogh, you'd produce evidence to ensure proper attribution. The word can be used more generally to indicate the source of anything, whether it's a bombing, climate change, or success. For example, attribution of your success might be hard work and the support of family and friends.

Definitions of attribution

1. noun

   assigning to a cause or source
   “the attribution of lighting to an expression of God's wrath”

   “he questioned the attribution of the painting to Picasso”

   synonyms: ascription

   types:

   animatism

   the attribution of consciousness and personality to natural phenomena such as thunderstorms and earthquakes and to objects such as plants and stones

   imputation

   the attribution to a source or cause

   externalisation, externalization

   attributing to outside causes

   type of:

   categorisation, categorization, classification, sorting

   the basic cognitive process of arranging into classes or categories
2. noun

   assigning some quality or character to a person or thing
   “the attribution of language to birds”

   synonyms: ascription

   types:

   zoomorphism

   the attribution of animal forms or qualities to a god

   type of:

   categorisation, categorization, classification, sorting

   the basic cognitive process of arranging into classes or categories