Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Attribution has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
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"
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"
The act of attributing something.
"The attribution of the painting to a lesser-known student sparked a heated debate among art historians."
In plain English: Attribution is giving credit to someone for creating something or causing an event.
"The attribution of credit for the invention went to the scientist who first published his findings."
The word entered English from Middle French and originally referred to the act of assigning a quality or characteristic to something. It derives from the Latin attributio, meaning "the assignment" or "bestowal."