an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Origin: 1475–85; acknowleche, apparently either Middle English aknou(en) to recognize (Old English oncnāwan;see a-1, know) + -leche noun suffix (Old English *-lǣce, by-form of -lac;compare knowledge, wedlock); or blend of aknouen and knoulecheknowledge; then a- was mistaken for ac-
Related forms
ac·knowl·edge·a·ble, adjective
ac·knowl·edg·er, noun
pre·ac·knowl·edge, verb (used with object), -edged, -edg·ing.
re·ac·knowl·edge, verb (used with object), -edged, -edg·ing.
un·ac·knowl·edg·ing, adjective
Synonyms 1. concede, confess, grant. Acknowledge,admit,confess agree in the idea of declaring something to be true. Acknowledge implies making a statement reluctantly, often about something previously denied: to acknowledge a fault. Admit especially implies acknowledging something under pressure: to admit a charge. Confess usually means stating somewhat formally an admission of wrongdoing, crime, or shortcoming: to confess guilt; to confess an inability to understand.
1550s, a blend of M.E. aknow (from O.E. oncnawan "understand," from on + cnawan "recognize;" see know) and M.E. verb knowlechen "admit." Somehow, in the merger, a parasitic -c- slipped in, so that, while the kn- became a simple "n" sound (as in know), the -c- stepped up to