ascribe

Where does the word "ascribe" come from? It comes from Latin ascribere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Ascribe’s story begins in Latin: ascribere meant “to attribute, to write to.” To write to, to attribute, from ad- (to) and scribere (to write). It reached English by 1400s as ascribe. Settled as the English word for attributing something to a cause or source. Today, ascribe means to attribute something to a particular cause, source, or origin.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient ascribere "to attribute, to write to", to write to, to attribute, from ad- (to) and scribere (to write).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s ascribe "to attribute something to a particular cause or source", settled as the English word for attributing something to a cause or source.