All 5 Uses of
attribute
in
Jane Eyre
- Then take my word for it, — I am not a villain: you are not to suppose that — not to attribute to me any such bad eminence; but, owing, I verily believe, rather to circumstances than to my natural bent, I am a trite commonplace sinner, hackneyed in all the poor petty dissipations with which the rich and worthless try to put on life.
p. 159.3attribute = credit (point to as the cause of)
- And while she broke the seal and perused the document, I went on taking my coffee (we were at breakfast): it was hot, and I attributed to that circumstance a fiery glow which suddenly rose to my face.†
p. 190.2 *attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of something)
- I smiled as I unfolded it, and devised how I would tease you about your aristocratic tastes, and your efforts to masque your plebeian bride in the attributes of a peeress.
p. 323.9attributes = characteristics
- I would not ascribe vice to him; I would not say he had betrayed me; but the attribute of stainless truth was gone from his idea, and from his presence I must go: THAT I perceived well.
p. 341.7attribute = characteristic
- That was my Indian Messalina's attribute: rooted disgust at it and her restrained me much, even in pleasure.
p. 358.9 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(attribute as in: It is an attribute of...) a characteristic or feature (of something or someone)
-
(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