Acknowledgment \Ac*knowl"edg*ment\ (-ment), n.

1. The act of acknowledging; admission; avowal; owning; confession. ``An acknowledgment of fault.'' --Froude.

2. The act of owning or recognized in a particular character or relationship; recognition as regards the existence, authority, truth, or genuineness.

Immediately upon the acknowledgment of the Christian faith, the eunuch was baptized by Philip. --Hooker.

3. The owning of a benefit received; courteous recognition; expression of thanks. --Shak.

4. Something given or done in return for a favor, message, etc. --Smollett.

5. A declaration or avowal of one's own act, to give it legal validity; as, the acknowledgment of a deed before a proper officer. Also, the certificate of the officer attesting such declaration.

Acknowledgment money, in some parts of England, a sum paid by copyhold tenants, on the death of their landlords, as an acknowledgment of their new lords. --Cowell.

Syn: Confession; concession; recognition; admission; avowal; recognizance.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)