attributional
|at-tri-bu-tion-al|
🇺🇸
/əˌtrɪbjuˈʃənəl/
🇬🇧
/əˌtrɪbjʊˈʃənəl/
relating to assigning cause or credit
Etymology
'attributional' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'attribuere' (ad- + tribuere), where 'ad-' meant 'to, toward' and 'tribuere' meant 'to give or assign'.
'attributional' derives from the noun 'attribution' formed in Late Latin/Medieval Latin as 'attributio' or 'attributio(n-)', passed into Old French as 'attribution' and then into Middle English as 'attribution', after which the adjectival suffix '-al' (from Latin '-alis') produced 'attributional' in modern English.
Initially, the root sense concerned 'giving or assigning' (to give, to grant); over time it evolved into the specialized modern sense 'relating to the assigning of cause, credit, or authorship'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or denoting attribution: the act of assigning a cause, source, credit, or authorship (e.g., assigning responsibility or credit to someone or something).
Researchers discussed several attributional explanations for the change in behavior.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/16 22:24