acknowledge

Meaning

Verb

• To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in
• To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to.
• To be grateful of (e.g. a benefit or a favour)
• To report (the receipt of a message to its sender).
• To own as genuine or valid; to assent to (a legal instrument) to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form.

Related

Similar words

• avow, recognize, admit
• recognize, admit, allow, concede, confess, own

Origin

• Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English knowlechen ("to discover, reveal, acknowledge") and aknowen; the latter from Old English oncnāwan ("to know, recognize, acknowledge"), from on + cnāwan. Notice the preservation of /k/ word-internally (regularly spelled with ck as in back) while being lost word-initially. The prefix might have been influenced by Anglo-Norman a- ("on-, to-"). See knowledge.
• For the formation compare Latin agnōscō and Russian призна́ть, with cognate roots.