All 3 Uses of
attribute
in
Washington Square
- He was a thoroughly honest man—honest in a degree of which he had perhaps lacked the opportunity to give the complete measure; and, putting aside the great good-nature of the circle in which he practised, which was rather fond of boasting that it possessed the "brightest" doctor in the country, he daily justified his claim to the talents attributed to him by the popular voice.
Chpt 1 (definition 1) *attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of something)
- "Their number is infinite!" said Mrs. Penniman, in a tone which seemed to suggest that this convenient faculty was one of her brightest attributes.†
Chpt 21 (definition 2) *
- Catherine, as an object of affection and solicitude, had never had that picturesque charm which (as it seemed to her) would have been a natural attribute of her own progeny.†
Chpt 27 (definition 2)
Definitions:
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(1) (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
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(2) (attribute as in: It is an attribute of...) a characteristic (of something or someone)