Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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 : WordNet®

acknowledgment
     n 1: the state or quality of being recognized or acknowledged;
          "the partners were delighted with the recognition of
          their work"; "she seems to avoid much in the way of
          recognition or acknowledgement of feminist work prior to
          her own" [syn: {recognition}, {acknowledgement}]
     2: a short note recognizing a source of information or of a
        quoted passage; "the student's essay failed to list
        several important citations"; "the acknowledgments are
        usually printed at the front of a book"; "the article
        includes mention of similar clinical cases" [syn: {citation},
         {credit}, {reference}, {mention}, {quotation}]
     3: a statement acknowledging something or someone; "she must
        have seen him but she gave no sign of acknowledgment";
        "the preface contained an acknowledgment of those who had
        helped her" [syn: {acknowledgement}]