All 5 Uses of
attribute
in
The Mill on the Floss
- …border under his outdoor cap, he was often observed peeping through the bars of a gate and making minatory gestures with his small forefinger while he scolded the sheep with an inarticulate burr, intended to strike terror into their astonished minds; indicating thus early that desire for mastery over the inferior animals, wild and domestic, including cockchafers, neighbors' dogs, and small sisters, which in all ages has been an attribute of so much promise for the fortunes of our race.†
Chpt 1.9 (definition 1)
- Mr. Pullet had bought the box, to begin with, and he understood winding it up, and knew which tune it was going to play beforehand; altogether the possession of this unique "piece of music" was a proof that Mr. Pullet's character was not of that entire nullity which might otherwise have been attributed to it.†
Chpt 1.9 (definition 2) *
- —don't step where the cows have been!" he added, pointing to a peninsula of dry grass, with trodden mud on each side of it; for Tom's contemptuous conception of a girl included the attribute of being unfit to walk in dirty places.†
Chpt 1.10 (definition 1) *
- In trying to recall all the details that could give shape to his suspicions, he remembered only lately hearing his mother scold Maggie for walking in the Red Deeps when the ground was wet, and bringing home shoes clogged with red soil; still Tom, retaining all his old repulsion for Philip's deformity, shrank from attributing to his sister the probability of feeling more than a friendly interest in such an unfortunate exception to the common run of men.†
Chpt 5.5 (definition 2)
- If you were not to stand by your "kin" as long as there was a shred of honor attributable to them, pray what were you to stand by?†
Chpt 7.3 (definition 2)
Definitions:
-
(1) (attribute as in: It is an attribute of...) a characteristic (of something or someone)
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(2) (attribute as in: I attribute it to...) to credit (a source for something)in two typical senses:
- "I attribute it to her work." -- to say who or what made something happen
- "Remember to attribute any quotations in your paper." -- indicate the source of a quotation or idea