ACKNOWL'EDGMENT, noun 1. The act of owning; confession; as, the acknowledgment of a fault. 2. The owning, with approbation, or in the true character; as the acknowledgment of a God, or of a public minister. 3. Concession; admission of the truth; as, of a fact, position, or principle. 4. The owning of a benefit received, accompanied with gratitude; and hence it combines the ideas of an expression of thanks. Hence, it is used also for something given or done in return for a favor. 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. Acknowledgment-money, in some parts of England, is a sum paid by tenants, on the death of their landlord, as an acknowledgment of their new lords.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI