ascribe
verbUK, US /əˈskɹaɪb/
Etymology From Middle English ascriben, from Old French ascrivre (“inscribe, attribute, impute”), from Latin āscrībere (“to state in writing”), equivalent to a- + scribe.
1
To regard as arising from a specified cause or source.
- One may ascribe these problems to the federal government; however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.
- Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and another athwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back.1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Same [i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th book, page 282:
2 more examples
- Difficult running was ascribed by the driver to inferior coal, alleged to be Polish.1950 September, “Notes and News: Italian Fuel Difficulties”, in Railway Magazine, page 639:
- SCP-3125 incarnated the following winter. Its first act upon its arrival — or, depending on the degree of intelligent agency you ascribed to it, the first side-effect of its arrival — was the neutralisation of the Foundation.2019 August 26, qntm, “Unthreaded”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 161:
2
To attribute (a book, painting, or any other work of art or literature) to a writer or creator.
- It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.
- […]and two enormous Scottish poems, the Buik of Alexander, which has been improbably ascribed to Barbour, and Sir Gilbert Hay's Buik of Alexander the Conquerour; one nearly complete Prose Life of Alexander and fragments of four others; a stanzaic translation of the Fuerres de Gadres which survives only in a fragment, the Romance of Cassamus, and three separate translations of the Secreta Secretorum.2012, William Matthews, The Tragedy of Arthur, University of California Press, page 68:
3
Nonstandard, With to To believe in or agree with; to subscribe.
- A survey of the literature reveals that many who have commented on the signaling of animals ascribe to the view that all of their communicative signals are manifestations of emotion or affect.1997, James A. Russell, José Miguel Fernández-Dols, The Psychology of Facial Expression, →ISBN, page 133:
- If we take a holistic view of human beings, we ascribe to the idea that humans are multidimensional and that they are greater than the sum of their parts – for example, their physical, psychological and spiritual aspects.2010, Beverley Joan Taylor, Reflective Practice for Healthcare Professionals: A Practical Guide, →ISBN:
2 more examples
- There are plenty of people who ascribe to the idea that, if they only have a short time on this earth, they want to be “used up” when it's their time to go.2012, Joan Friedlander, Business from Bed, →ISBN:
- And the truth is, I don't ascribe to the belief that God is more successful at drawing women to him than men.2012, Mike Nappa, The Jesus Survey: What Christian Teens Really Believe and Why, →ISBN:
- Synonyms
- accredit, ascribe, attach, attribute, chalk up to, charge, draw, impute, lay, put down to, repose
- Derived terms
- ascribable, misascribe, self-ascribed, unascribed
- Related terms
- ascription, ascriptive
- Hyponyms
- blame, credit, misascribe, misattribute