attribution

1 assigning some quality or character to a person or thing; "the attribution of language to birds"; "the ascription to me of honors I had not earned" [syn: ascription]

2 assigning to a cause or source; "the attribution of lighting to an expression of God's wrath"; "he questioned the attribution of the painting to Picasso" [syn: ascription]

English

Noun

1. Gerund form of attribute; an explicit or formal acknowledgment of ownership or authorship.

Attribution can mean:

• Attribution (copyright), a concept in copyright law requiring an author to be credited
• Journalism sourcing (or attribution), a journalistic practice of attributing information to its source
• Attribution (psychology), a concept in psychology whereby people attribute traits and causes to things they observe

In art, the judgement by experts as to the author, date, or other aspect of the origin of a work of art. Works "attributed" to an artist are more firmly believed to be theirs than those "ascribed". A description or classification tool used to identify features of a specific object.

A form of description used to identify traits of an individual.