verb /əˈskraɪb/
a) To attribute a cause or characteristic to someone or something.
One may ascribe these problems to the federal government, however at this stage it is unclear what caused them.
b) To attribute a book, painting or any work of art or literature to a writer or creator.
It is arguable as to whether we can truly ascribe this play to Shakespeare.
See Also: ascription, ascriptive
Wikipedia foundation.