attribute

1. Marketing: A characteristic or feature of a product that is thought to appeal to customers. Attributes usually represent a manufacturer's or a seller's perspective and not necessarily that of a customer. Attributes of instant coffee, for example, may include its aroma, flavor, color, caffeine content, packaging and presentation, price, shelf-life, source, etc. Attributes have only two possible ratings (negative or positive) expressed as acceptable or unacceptable, desirable or undesirable, good or bad, etc.

2. Engineering: A visual but nondimensional characteristic that is quantified by applying a numerical scale (such as Likert Scale) between the two extreme values, such as acceptable-not acceptable, good-bad, or satisfactory-unsatisfactory.

3. Statistics: A characteristic of a system for which numerical measurements cannot be made and therefore (irrespective of its importance) cannot be treated as a variable in quantitative analysis.