a. Capable of being attributed; ascribable; imputable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Errors . . . attributable to carelessness. J. D. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Attributing. ] [ L. attributus, p. p. of attribuere; ad + tribuere to bestow. See Tribute. ] To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate (to); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging (to). [ 1913 Webster ]

We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it. Abp. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Ascribe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. attributum. ] 1. That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic. [ 1913 Webster ]

But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . .
It is an attribute to God himself. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Reputation. [ Poetic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Paint. & Sculp.) A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Gram.) Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. attributio: cf. F. attribution. ] 1. The act of attributing or ascribing, as a quality, character, or function, to a thing or person, an effect to a cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is ascribed or attributed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n., (Gram.) A word that denotes an attribute; esp. a modifying word joined to a noun; an adjective or adjective phrase. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. attributif. ] Attributing; pertaining to, expressing, or assigning an attribute; of the nature of an attribute. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an attributive manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cephalo- + Gr. to rub, grind. ] An obstetrical instrument for performing cephalotripsy. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being contributed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Contributory. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Tributary; contributing. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It was situated on the Ganges, at the place where this river received a contributary stream. D'Anville (Trans. ). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Contributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Contributing. ] [ L. contributus, p. p. of contribuere to bring together, to add; con- + tribuere to grant, impart. See Tribute. ] To give or grant i common with others; to give to a common stock or for a common purpose; to furnish or suply in part; to give (money or other aid) for a specified object; as, to contribute food or fuel for the poor. [ 1913 Webster ]

England contributes much more than any other of the allies. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To give a part to a common stock; to lend assistance or aid, or give something, to a common purpose; to have a share in any act or effect. [ 1913 Webster ]

We are engaged in war; the secretary of state calls upon the colonies to contribute. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To give or use one's power or influence for any object; to assist. [ 1913 Webster ]

These men also contributed to obstruct the progress of wisdom. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. contributio: cf. F. contribution. ] 1. The act of contributing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is contributed; -- either the portion which an individual furnishes to the common stock, or the whole which is formed by the gifts of individuals. [ 1913 Webster ]

A certain contribution for the poor saints which are at jerusalem. Rom. xv. 26. [ 1913 Webster ]

Aristotle's actual contributions to the physical sciences. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) An irregular and arbitrary imposition or tax leved on the people of a town or country. [ 1913 Webster ]

These sums, . . . and the forced contributions paid by luckless peasants, enabled him to keep his straggling troops together. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Law) Payment, by each of several jointly liable, of a share in a loss suffered or an amount paid by one of their number for the common benefit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to, or furnishing, a contribution. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Life Insurance) A plan of distributing surplus by giving to each policy the excess of premiums and interest earned thereon over the expenses of management, cost of insurance, and the policy value at the date of computation. This excess is called the contribution of the policy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Contributing, or tending to contribute. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, contributes; specifically, one who writes articles for a newspaper, magazine, or book. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Contributing to the same stock or purpose; promoting the same end; bringing assistance to some joint design, or increase to some common stock; contributive. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bonfires of contributory wood. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Contributory negligence (Law), negligence by an injured party, which combines with the negligence of the injurer in producing the injury, and which bars recovery when it is the proximate cause of the injury. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Contributories One who contributes, or is liable to be called upon to contribute, as toward the discharge of a common indebtedness. Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. same as detribalization. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. the act of causing tribal people to abandon their customs and adopt urban ways of living.
Syn. -- detribalisation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. to cause (members of a tribe) to lose their cultural identity and adopt other customs. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. diatriba a learned discussion, Gr. &unr_;, prop., a wearing away of time, fr. &unr_; to rub away, spend time; dia` through + &unr_; to rub: cf. L. terere, F. trite: cf. F. diatribe. ] A prolonged or exhaustive discussion; especially, an acrimonious or invective harangue; a strain of abusive or railing language; a philippic. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ephemeral diatribe of a faction. John Morley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes a diatribe or diatribes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being distributed. Sir W. Jones. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to distribute or be distributed; that distributes; distributive. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Distributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Distributing. ] [ L. distributus, p. p. of distribuere to divide, distribute; dis- + tribuere to assign, give, allot. See Tribute. ] 1. To divide among several or many; to deal out; to apportion; to allot. [ 1913 Webster ]

She did distribute her goods to all them that were nearest of kindred. Judith xvi. 24. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dispense; to administer; as, to distribute justice. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To divide or separate, as into classes, orders, kinds, or species; to classify; to assort, as specimens, letters, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Printing) (a) To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases. (b) To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Logic) To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise. [ 1913 Webster ]

A term is said to be distributed when it is taken universal, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to. Whately.

Syn. -- To dispense; deal out; apportion; allot; share; assign; divide. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make distribution. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. spread from a central location to multiple points or recipients. Opposite of concentrated. [ Narrower terms: apportioned, dealt out, doled out, meted out, parceled out; diffuse, diffused; dispensed; dispersed, spread; divided, divided up, shared, shared out on the basis of a plan or purpose); encyclical; rationed; scattered, widespread; sparse, thin; unfocused, unfocussed ] Also See: distributive. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. spread among a variety of securities; -- of investments.
Syn. -- diversified. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Distributing to the necessity of saints. Rom. xii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, distributes or deals out anything; a dispenser. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That distributes; dealing out. [ 1913 Webster ]

Distributing past office, an office where the mails for a large district are collected to be assorted according to their destination and forwarded. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. distributio: cf. F. distribution. ] 1. The act of distributing or dispensing; the act of dividing or apportioning among several or many; apportionment; as, the distribution of an estate among heirs or children. [ 1913 Webster ]

The phenomena of geological distribution are exactly analogous to those of geography. A. R. Wallace. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Separation into parts or classes; arrangement of anything into parts; disposition; classification. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is distributed. “Our charitable distributions.” Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Logic) A resolving a whole into its parts. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Print.) The sorting of types and placing them in their proper boxes in the cases. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Steam Engine) The steps or operations by which steam is supplied to and withdrawn from the cylinder at each stroke of the piston; viz., admission, suppression or cutting off, release or exhaust, and compression of exhaust steam prior to the next admission. [ 1913 Webster ]

Geographical distribution, the natural arrangements of animals and plants in particular regions or districts.

Syn. -- Apportionments; allotment; dispensation; disposal; dispersion; classification; arrangement. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to distribution. Huxley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A distributer. [ R. ] Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. distributif. ] 1. Tending to distribute; serving to divide and assign in portions; dealing to each his proper share. “Distributive justice.” Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Logic) Assigning the species of a general term. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) Expressing separation; denoting a taking singly, not collectively; as, a distributive adjective or pronoun, such as each, either, every; a distributive numeral, as (Latin) bini (two by two). [ 1913 Webster ]

Distributive operation (Math.), any operation which either consists of two or more parts, or works upon two or more things, and which is such that the result of the total operation is the same as the aggregated result of the two or more partial operations. Ordinary multiplication is distributive, since a × (b + c) = ab + ac, and (a + b) × c = ac + bc. --
Distributive proportion. (Math.) See Fellowship. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Gram.) A distributive adjective or pronoun; also, a distributive numeral. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. By distribution; singly; not collectively; in a distributive manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Quality of being distributive. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] One that distributes; a distributer; specif.: (a) A machine for distributing type. (b) An appliance, as a roller, in a printing press, for distributing ink. (c) An apparatus for distributing an electric current, either to various points in rotation, as in some motors, or along two or more lines in parallel, as in a distributing system. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

The permanent court of arbitration created by the “International Convention for the Pacific Settle of International Disputes.”, adopted by the International Peace Conference of 1899. It is composed of persons of known competency in questions of international law, nominated by the signatory powers. From these persons an arbitration tribunal is chosen by the parties to a difference submitted to the court. On the failure of the parties to agree directly on the arbitrators, each chooses two arbitrators, an umpire is selected by them, by a third power, or by two powers selected by the parties. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ , a. Not contributing. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To attribute to another source or cause. Usually used without the hyphen. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To distribute again. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Re*dis`tri*bu"tion n. [1913 Webster]

v. t. [ L. retributus, p. p. ofretribuere to retribute; pref re- + tribuere to bestow, assign, pay. See Tribute. ] To pay back; to give in return, as payment, reward, or punishment; to requite; as, to retribute one for his kindness; to retribute just punishment to a criminal. [ Obs. or R. ] Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who makes retribution. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. retributio: cf. F. rétribution. ] 1. The act of retributing; repayment. [ 1913 Webster ]

In good offices and due retributions, we may not be pinching and niggardly. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is given in repayment or compensation; return suitable to the merits or deserts of, as an action; commonly, condign punishment for evil or wrong. [ 1913 Webster ]

All who have their reward on earth, . . .
Naught seeking but the praise of men, here find
Fit retribution, empty as their deeds. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Specifically, reward and punishment, as distributed at the general judgment. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is a strong argument for a state of retribution hereafter, that in this world virtuous persons are very often unfortunate, and vicious persons prosperous. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Repayment; requital; recompense; payment; retaliation. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }, a. [ Cf. LL. retributorius worthy of retribution. ] Of or pertaining to retribution; of the nature of retribution; involving retribution or repayment; as, retributive justice; retributory comforts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot. & Zool.) A division of a tribe; a group of genera of a little lower rank than a tribe. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a tribe or tribes; as, a tribal scepter. Bp. Warburton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of existing in tribes; also, tribal feeling; tribal prejudice or exclusiveness; tribal peculiarities or characteristics. [ 1913 Webster ]