'ascribe' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'ascribere', where 'ad-' (later assimilated to 'as-') meant 'to, toward' and 'scribere' meant 'to write'.

'ascribe' changed from the Latin verb 'ascribere' (meaning 'to write to' or 'to attribute'); it entered English via Late Latin/Medieval Latin and Middle English usage, eventually becoming the modern English 'ascribe'.

Initially, it meant 'to write to' or 'to assign in writing', but over time it evolved into the more general sense 'to attribute or assign (a cause, source, or quality) to someone or something'.