What Does Attribute And Tribute Mean?

Tribute sounds similar to attribute but in actuality their meanings are quite different. The meaning of both words change in their noun and verb usage.

Attribute has two distinct meanings. Firstly attribute means crediting something to a particular source or cause, like for instance, 'we attribute our values to our parents'. It could also indicate regarding something as the work of a particular place, time period or a specific agent, like for example 'he attributed that picture to Titian'. On another level attribute also means a characteristic or quality of something or someone. Its synonyms are ascribe, credit, refer, assign etc.

Tribute also has several different meanings. It could mean a gift, a declaration or a payment to acknowledge or thank someone. For example Queen Victoria put up a plaque to pay tribute to his service. It could also denote some proof of an outstanding attribute like for example "wining the gold medal was a tribute to his consistent hard work". A tribute is also a payment that was demanded by one authority like a king from another for protection or as a sign of submission.