noun
also ac·knowl·edge·ment -jmənt
( -s )
1.
a. : the act of acknowledging
b. : recognition or favorable notice of an act or achievement
received the acknowledgment he deserved as a poet
2. : a thing done or given in recognition of something received
an acknowledgment came in the mail
an author's acknowledgments of assistance
3.
a. : a declaration or avowal of one's act or a fact to give it legal validity ; specifically : a declaration before a duly qualified public officer by one who has executed an instrument that the execution was his free act and deed
b. : the formal certificate made by an officer before whom one has acknowledged a deed including as an essential part the signature and seal of the officer