Acknowledgments

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Expressions of gratitude may serve to honor contributions made by individuals or groups
2. Statements that express thanks or credit to people for help or support
3. Words or phrases used to recognize and appreciate contributions received

Etymology: "Acknowledgment" is an English formation: the verb "acknowledge" plus the suffix "-ment," which turns a verb into a noun for the act or result of doing it. "Acknowledge" itself is a much older word with a tangled past. It was built in Middle English from "knowledge" with the prefix "a-" (roughly "on" or "to"), and the early sense was to admit or confess something, as in acknowledging a fault or a debt, rather than to thank anyone. The spelling with the "e" after the "g" in "acknowledgement" is also common, and it appears in many dictionaries, but "acknowledgment" is the form preferred in American English and by many British style guides. The plural "acknowledgments" is the form you see on the page at the front of a book, where authors list the people who helped them. That sense of thanks grew out of the older meaning of confessing or admitting a debt, since a formal acknowledgment recognized what one owed to someone else.

Synonyms: recognitions, appreciations, admissions

Antonyms: denials, rejections