acknowledge
verbEtymology
Recorded since 1553, a blend of Middle English aknowen (“to recognize, acknowledge”) and knowlechen (“to discover, reveal, acknowledge”). The former verb is from Old English oncnāwan, ācnāwan (“to know, recognize, acknowledge”), from on + cnāwan (“to know”). The latter is derived from the noun at hand in knowledge. For the formation compare Latin agnōscō and Russian призна́ть (priznátʹ), with cognate roots. The /k/-sound was preserved by being redistributed to the preceding syllable: /əˈkn-/ > /əkˈn-/. The -c- was inserted accordingly to reflect this pronunciation more clearly.
Definitions
To admit the knowledge of
To admit the knowledge of; to recognize as a fact or truth; to declare one's belief in.
- to acknowledge the being of a god
- I acknowledge my transgressions.
- [T]he charge of my moſt curious, and coſtly ingredients fraide, amounting to ſome ſeaventeene thouſand crovvnes, a trifle in reſpect of health, vvriting your noble name in my Catalogue, I ſhall acknovvledge my ſelfe amply ſatisfi'd.
To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship
To own or recognize in a particular quality, character or relationship; to admit the claims or authority of; to give recognition to.
- By my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee.
- In all thy ways acknowledge Him.
- Such an episode in the Island's grand naval story her naval historians naturally abridge; one of them (G.P.R. James) candidly acknowledging that fain would he pass it over did not "impartiality forbid fastidiousness."
To be grateful of (e.g. a benefit or a favour)
- to acknowledge a favor
- They his gifts acknowledged none.
›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer
To report (the receipt of a message to its sender).
- This is to acknowledge your kind invitation to participate in the upcoming debate.
To own as genuine or valid
To own as genuine or valid; to assent to (a legal instrument) to give it validity; to avow or admit in legal form.
- One who has been sheriff may acknowledge a deed executed by him while in office.
The neighborhood
- neighboracknowledgment
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at acknowledge. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at acknowledge. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
10 hops · closes at acknowledge
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA