attraction 
toward one another, aecordiiiK to theit diManee. Such at 
traction i* a mutual action which in Home form all Im.lieM, 
whether at re.st or in motion, exert upon our another. The 
attractive force with which the atom* of ililli Tent bodies 
in certain cases tend to unite, so as to form a new Ix.dy <.r 
hollies, is called cln'u>>:-nl uilinitii; that wliich hinds to- 
gether the molecules of the MOM body is called <-A. >;,.>/ 
tb-.seof ditferent bodies, attliatioii. Coimaatad with the 
last-named force* is ,-<;/"//<"'/ ,'ltnii-tnin, hy which lii(ui<N 
tend to rise in line lubes or small interstices of porous 
bodies. In all the eases mentioned the forces aei <,nl> 
through very small distances. When liodies ten. I t<. come 
together from sensible distances, the a, , el,-i;,t ion b. in- 
inversely its the square of the .listance, and the force pro- 
portional to the mass, the attraction is called ,in:r,lm ,,,,,. 
as when the earth attracts anil is attracted by a falling 
body, or attracts and is attracted hy the moon, etc.; or 
mii'lii'-t^tn, as uhell exerted between the unlike ]M,les ot 
a magnet; or rl,rtfi,-iin. as when dissimilarly clcctntlc.l 
bodies attract one another. See rn^illnra, fit, miful , 
cohesion, ''/i-tri'-itii, !tt-<n'<t>iti"/i. magntttm. (ft) The 
power or act of alluring, winning, or engaging; allure- 
lucnt ; enticement: as, the till i'<ii-tin of heauty or elo 
queni'e. 
s< tting the attraction of my good parts aside, I have no 
other charms. Shale., M. W. of W., II. 2. 
2. That which attracts feeling or desire; a 
charm ; au allurement. 
She. questionless, with her sweet harmony, 
And other chosen attraction*, would allure. 
Shak., Pericles, v. 1. 
It la probable that pollen was ;iboi i^inally the sole "' 
traction to insecU. 
liarwiit, Cross and .Self Fertilisation, p. 402. 
Center of attraction. Hee center. Heterogeneous 
attraction, s,. l,,i,mgeneou*. Molecular attrac- 
tion. Hee molecular. = Syn, 2. Attractiveness, fascina- 
tion, enticement. 
attractionally (a-trak'shon-al-i), adv. By 
means of attraction. 
The advance and retreat of the water react attractionally 
upon the plummet In a very marked degree. 
The American, VI. 172. 
attractive (a-trak'tiv), a. and n. [= F. attrac- 
tif, -ive, = It. attrattivo, < L. as if 'attractivus : 
see attract and -ive.~\ I. a. If. Having the 
power or faculty of drawing in, to, or toward 
by mechanical agency or action. 2. Having 
the quality of attracting by inherent force; 
causing to gravitate to or toward : as, the at- 
tractive force of bodies. 
A repulsive force Is positive ; an attractive, which di- 
minishes the distance between two masses, is negative. 
A. Daniell, Prin. of Physics, p. 168. 
3. Having the power of charming or alluring 
by agreeable qualities; inviting; engaging; en- 
ticing. 
For contemplation he and valour forni'd, 
For softness she and sweet attractive grace. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 29B. 
For hers was one of those attractive faces. 
That when you gaze upon them, never fail 
To bid you look again. Halleck, Fauny. 
Il.t ". That which draws or incites; allure- 
ment ; charm. 
The dressing 
Is a most main attractive. 
B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, ill. 2. 
The gospel speaks nothing but attractive! and invita- 
tion. South, Sermons. 
attractively (a-trak'tiv-li), adv. In an attrac- 
tive manner; with the power of attracting or 
drawing to: as, to smile attractively. 
attractiveness (a-trak'tiv-nes), n. The quality 
of being attractive or engaging. 
The same attractiveness in riches. 
South, Sermons, VII. xiv. 
attractivity (a-trak-tiv'i-ti), n. [< attractive + 
-ity.] Attractive power"or influence. 
attractor, n. See attracter. 
attrahens (at'ra-benz), ppr., used also as n.; 
pi. attrahentes (at-ra-hen tez). [NL., < L. attra- 
hens, ppr. : see attrahent.'] In anat., drawing 
forward, or that which draws forward; attra- 
hent: the opposite of retrahens. Chiefly in the 
phrase attrahens aurem, the name of a small muscle whose 
action tends to draw the ear forward. 
attrabent (at'ra-hent), a. and n. [< L. attra- 
hen(t-)s, ppr. of attrahere, attract: see attract.'] 
I. a. 1. Drawing to; attracting. 2. In (Hint.. 
same as attrahens. 
II. n. If. That which draws to or attracts, 
as a magnet. Glanville. 2. In med., an ap- 
plication that attracts fluids to the part where 
it is applied, as a blister or a rubefacient ; an 
epispastic. 
attrahentes, n. Plural of attraheim. 
attrap 1 ! (a-trap'), v. t. [< F. attraper, OF. atra- 
per, trap, insnare, < a (< L. ad) + trappe, trap: 
see trap 1 .] To insnare. 
He [Kichard III.] was not attrapped either with net or 
snare. Grafton, Hen. VII., an. 17. 
attrap^t (a-trap'), v. t. [< a<-2 + traps, (!.] To 
furnish with trappings; deck. 
375 
For all his aimotir was like salvage weed 
With woody mo--. I,, d]-ht, ami all hi 
With oaken leaves attnii>r. 
Bptatfr, t. if.. IV n. .;..>. 
attrectationt (at-rek-ta'shon), n. [< Ij.allfK- 
tiitin(n-), < iillnr.tan; handle, pp. attrectatus, < 
ad, to, + tractare, handle, freq. of trtiln-n; \>\>. 
tfin-lit.t, draw. Ct.attract.] A touching; a han- 
dling; frequent inanipiilittiiiii. 
attributable (a-trib'u-ta-bl), <i. [< minimi, + 
-nlilf.\ i':i|>;ilile of being or liable to be as- 
cribed, imputed, or attributed; ascribable; im- 
putable: as, the fault is not attributable to the 
author. 
Hibernation, although a result of cold, ill not its imme- 
diate consequence, but is fi II fi liiitabU to that deprivation 
of food and other essentials which extreme < ..Id oeea.sjon;,. 
SirJ. K. Tenni-iit, Ceylon, ii. 4. 
attribute (a-trib'ut), v. t. ; pret. and pp. alini'- 
uted, l>pr. attributing. [< L. attributus, pp. of 
attribuere, assign, < ad, to, + tribucre, give, as- 
sign, bestow: see tribute,.} To ascribe; im- 
pute; consider as belonging or as due; assign. 
The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true 
and exact performer. Shak., All's Well, iii. r>. 
Narrow views of religion tend to attribute to Uod an ar- 
bitrary and capricious action, not in harmony with cither 
science or the Bible. Dawiton, Nat. and the I'.iblc, p. 12. 
He does not hesitate to attribute the disease from which 
they suffered to those depressing moral influences to which 
they were subjected. O. W. Hairnet, Old Vol. of Life, p. 2. 
The burning of New York was generally attributed to 
New Englandincendiaries. Leclcy, Eng. In 18th Cent., xiv. 
= 8yn. Attribute, Ascribe, Refer, Impute, Charge, have 
two meanings in common : they may assign some attribute, 
quality, or appurtenance to a person or thing, or they may 
connect different things, as an effect with it* cause. Refer 
is the weakest. Attribute is stronger : as, to attribute om- 
niscience to Qod ; to attribute failure t. . incompetence. 
Ascribe, being most manifestly figurative, is the strongest 
and most common ; it is rarely used in a bad sense. That 
which is imputed in the flrst sense named is generally but 
not always bad : as, to impute folly to a man. To impute 
anything good seems an archaic mode of expression. Im- 
pute i.s not very common in the second sense : as, to im- 
pute one's troubles to one's follies. The theological mean- 
ing of impute, that of laying to a person's account some- 
thing good or bad that does not belong to him, has affected 
hut little the popular use of the word. That which is 
charged. In either of the senses named, Is bad : as, " His 
angels he charged with folly," Job iv. 18; 1 chari/ed It to 
their youth and inexperience. The word is a strong one, 
on account of its connection with legal processes, etc. 
The singular excellence to which eloquence attained at 
Athens is to be mainly attributed to the influence which 
It exerted there. Macaulay, Athenian Orators. 
I have never yet encountered that bitter spirit of big- 
otry which is so frequently ascribed to Mohammedans. 
B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 24. 
The salts, predominant in quick lime, we refer rather 
to lixiviate than acid. /;...,/., Colours. 
I desire that what I have said may not be imputed to 
the colonies. I am a private person, and do not write by 
their direction. Franklin, Life, p. 387. 
What you have chary'd me with, that have I done, 
And more, much more. Shak., Lear, v. S. 
attribute (at'ri-but), n. [< L. attributum, pred- 
icate, attribute, lit. what is ascribed, neut. of 
attributus, pp. of attribuere, ascribe, attribute: 
see attribute, v.~\ 1 . In logic, that which is pred- 
icated or affirmed of a subject ; a predicate ; an 
accident. 
A predicate, the exact limits of which are not deter- 
mined, cannot be used to deflne and determine a subject. 
It may be called an attribute, and conveys not the whole 
nature of the subject, but some one quality belonging to It. 
Abp. Thomson, Laws of Thought, p. 120. 
The term attribute simply directs the attention to the 
fact that we attribute to, or affirm of, a being something 
that we distinguish from Itself. 
.V. Porter, Human Intellect, 642. 
2. A character inseparable from its subject. 
By this word attribute is meant something which is im- 
movable and inseparable from the essence of its subject, 
as that which constitutes it, and which is thus opposed to 
mode. Detcarte*. 
Some necessary marks belong to things as reasons of 
other marks of the same things, others as consequences 
of other marks. . . . The latter are called attributes. 
Kant. 
3. A characteristic or distinguishing mark; es- 
pecially, an excellent or lofty quality or trait : 
as, wisdom and goodness are his attributes. 
Sen. . . . with him the mortal Venus, the heart-blood 
of beauty, love's invisible soul. 
Pan. Who, my cousin Cressida? 
Sera. No, sir, Helen : could you not flnd out that by her 
attributes? Shak., T. and C., ill. 1. 
The term attribute is a word properly convertible with 
quality, for every quality is an attribute, and every attri- 
bute is a quality; but custom has introduced a certain 
distinction in their application. Mtfiimt,- is considered 
as a word of loftier significance, and is, therefore, con- 
ventionally limited to qualities of a higher application. 
Thus, for example, it would be felt as Indecorous to speak 
of the qualities of God, ami as ridiculous to talk of the 
attributes of matter. Sir W. Hamilton, Metaph., I. 151. 
attrition 
4. In thejitti- iirtn, it symbol of ollicc, character, 
or personality: thus, tho eagle is the attrilmt' 
of Jupiter, 
The ladder is a striking nttribtitf for the patriarch Jacob, 
and tl, . harp for King David. Fairholt. 
plu.ne i> ii -ni-ed b> the lolty m.i'h 
measure, on her head, the attribute of the Chthotiian 
.1. in. - ''. '/'. Sevtun, Art and Archwol 
8t. Reputation ; honor. 
Much mi,-, /,,,!, he hath ; and much the reason 
Why w, a- ril.c it to him. .s'/int., T. and C., ii. :i. 
6. In ijriini., an attributivi- word; a word de- 
noting an atlrilMili-. Symbolical attributes, la* 
'"vi/.^Syn. 1-3. l'n>t"'i'i'i, cf>" ' to. See 
niaHly. 
attribution (at-ri-bu'shon), H. [= F. iillnliu- 
tion, < L. (ittriliiititiiii-). < ittti-i/HH-i-i; attribute: 
see attribute, r.] 1. The act of attributing, in 
any sense ; ascription. 
His [Ood's] relative personality is shadow c< i forth hy the 
itfri-i/nii'ion to bun of love, anger, and other human feel- 
ings and sentiments. Dawson, Orlg. of World, p. 12. 
2. That which is ascribed ; attribute. 
If speaking truth, 
In this tine age, were not thought flattery, 
Such attribution should the Douglas have, 
As not a soldier of this season's stamp 
Should go so general current through the world. 
M<ik.. I Hen. IV., iv. 1. 
3. Authority or function granted, as to a ruler, 
minister, or court. 
It is not desirable that to the ever-growing attribution* 
of the government so delicate a function should be super- 
added. J. S. Mill. 
attributive (a-trib'u-tiv), a. and n. [= F. 
attributif. < Li as if "attributivus, < attribuere: 
see attribute.] I. a. 1. Pertaining to or hav- 
ing the character of attribution: as, the attrib- 
utive use or relation of certain words; attrib- 
utive qualities or insignia; an attributive judg- 
ment (in logic). 2. In gram., pertaining to or 
expressing an attribute; used (as a word) in 
direct description without predication: as, a 
bad pen, a burning house, a ruined man. An at- 
tributive word is to be distinguished from a predicative : 
as, the pen is bad ; the man is ruined ; and from an appoin- 
tive : as, the pen, bad as It Is, might be worse ; this man, 
rained by another's misconduct, is in misery. All adjective 
words, as proper adjectives, adjective pronouns, and 
participles, may be used attributively ; also nouns : as, a 
pine table ; a gold ring ; my hunter friend ; the young *</- 
cfter-boy. The relation of an adverb to the adjective qual- 
ified by it is also by some called attributive. 
II. n. In gram., a word expressing an at- 
tribute ; an adjective, or a phrase or clause 
performing the function of an adjective, which 
describes a noun without being part of the as- 
sertion or predication made about it. 
attributively (a-trib'u-tiv-li), adc. In an at- 
tributive manner; specifically, in gram., as 
attribute or attributive ; in direct ascription of 
quality or circumstance without predication. 
attristt (a-trisf), v. t. [< F. attrister, sadden, 
< <i (< L. ad. to) -I- triste, < L. tristis, sad.] To 
grieve; sadden. 
How then could I write when it was impossible but to 
attritt you ! when I could speak of nothing but unparal- 
leled horrors. Valpole, Letters, IV. 626. 
attrite (a-trit'), a. [< L. attritux, pp. of at- 
tcrere, rub away, wear, < ad, to, + terere, rub : 
see trite.'] If. Worn by rubbing or friction. 
Milton. 2. In theol., imperfectly contrite or 
repentant. See attrition, 3. 
He that was attrite being, hy virtue of this [the priest's) 
absolution, made contrite and justified. 
Abp. tftmlier, Alls, to a Jesuit, v. 
attritenesst (a-trit'nes), n. The state of being 
attrite ; the state of being much worn. 
attrition (a-trish'on), n. [= F. attrition, < LL. 
attritio(n-), a rubbing. < L. attritus,j>p. of attf- 
rere, rub: see attrite.] 1. The rubbing of one 
thing against another ; mutual friction : as, the 
abrasion of coins by attrition. 2. The act of 
wearing away by rubbing ; the state of being 
worn down or smoothed by friction ; abrasion. 
The change of the aliment is effected by the attrition of 
the inward stomach and dissolvent liquor assisted with 
heat. Arbuthnot, Aliments. 
These were people trained by attrition with many Influ- 
ences. . S. Phelps, Beyond the Gates, p. 119. 
3. In theol., imperfect contrition or repentance, 
with real detestation of sin, and a true purpose 
of amendment, arising from those supernatural 
motives of faith which, are lower than charity, 
or the true love of God for his own infinite per- 
fections. Such motives are a love of justice for its own 
sake, the intrinsic sliamefulness of sin, the fear of divine 
punishment, etc. Attrition remits sin only when comple- 
mented by the grace conferred through sacramental abso- 
lution. See contrition. 
