'attrist' originates from Old French, specifically the verb 'attrister', where the prefix 'a-' (from Latin ad-) meant 'to/toward' and 'trister'/'triste' meant 'sad' (from Latin 'tristis').

'attrist' changed from Old French 'attrister' and Middle English forms such as 'attristen' and eventually became the modern English word 'attrist'.

Initially, it meant 'to make sad' and over time it has largely retained that meaning, though the word has become rare or literary in modern English.