attributiveadj.n.
/aˈtrɪbjuːtɪv/ A. adj.† 1. Characterized by attributing. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > attribution or assignment of cause > [adjective] > attributable or imputable > attributed or imputed
imputed1552
imputative1579
attributive1609
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida ii. ii. 57 The will dotes that is attributiue [1623 inclineable]; To what infectiously it selfe affects, Without some image of th' affected merit. View more context for this quotation
2. Logic. That assigns an attribute to a subject.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [adjective] > of or assigning an attribute
attributive1849
1849 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (1860) §77. 134 Attributive [judgment] where an indefinite (i.e. undistributed) predicate is assigned to the subject.
1870 F. C. Bowen Logic v. 110 In Attributive Judgments the Predicate is actually thought only connotatively, as a Mark or attribute of the Subject, and not denotatively, as the name of a class of things.
3. Grammar. That expresses an attribute.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > other parts of speech > [adjective] > expressing an attribute
attributivec1840
c1840 Douglas Eng. Gram. (1876) 16 Attributive adjectives are those which express the quality of an object, as, a kind friend.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. x. 207 Nearly all attributive words were inflected.
1881 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. 145 When to a noun or pronoun we attach an adjective, or what is equivalent to an adjective..this adjective or its equivalent stands in the Attributive Relation to the noun or pronoun, and is said to be an Attributive Adjunct to it.
4. So-assigned, so-ascribed (by those who essay to assign the authorship of a painting or work of art). Cf. ascriptive adj., putative adj., and attribution n. 4.
ΚΠ
1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life xiv. 206 An attributive Veronese.
B. n.
An attributive word, one that denotes an attribute. Applied by Harris and others to adjectives, verbs, and adverbs; by most modern grammarians only to adjectives and their equivalents.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > other parts of speech > [noun] > any part of speech denoting an attribute
attribution1589
attributive1751
attribute1808
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > adjective > [noun]
noun adjectivea1398
adjectivec1400
adject1584
nounc1620
adj.1656
adnoun1657
adname1710
A1735
attributive1860
adjectival1866
commonization1973
1751 J. Harris Hermes i. vi. 87 Attributives are all those principal Words, that denote Attributes, considered as Attributes.
1751 J. Harris Hermes i. vi. 94 All Attributives are either Verbs, Participles, or Adjectives.
1860 G. P. Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. ix. 193 A radical, which in its simplest form and use, serves only as an attributive, in other words as an adjective, may be made to denote the quality which it ascribes, or an act by which that quality is manifested or imparted, and thus become a noun or a verb.
1881 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. 18 Both Verbs and Adjectives express notions of the actions and attributes of things. Verbs assert the connection of the thing and its action or attribute; Adjectives assume this connection. To borrow a word from Mechanics, the Verb is a Dynamic Attributive, the Adjective is a Static Attributive.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1609