He recognized John as his lawful heir.是什么意思？

He recognized John as his lawful heir.

他确认约翰为他的合法继承人.

he

pron. 他，它，一个人；n. 雄性动物；

例句
Logic had prevailed and he had abandoned the idea.
最终理智占了上风，他打消了那个念头。

recognized

adj. 公认的，经过验证的；v. 认出( recognize的过去式和过去分词 )，承认[认清]（某事物），赏识，承认…有效[属实]；

例句
The patient recognized one of the women as the apparition she had seen.
病人认出其中一个女的是她曾见过的幽灵。

John

n. 茅房，厕所；

例句
He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Minsk by Pope John Paul II.
他被教皇约翰·保罗二世任命为明斯克区的宗座署理。

as

adv. 同样地，一样地，例如；prep. 作为，以…的身份，如

例句
As far as I can recall, Patti was a Smith.
我记得帕蒂是姓史密斯的。

his

pron. (he的所有格)他的，(he的物主代词)他的东西；det. 属于他的，用于名词前，自己的，指某人的，上帝的；

例句
He claimed that his parents had abandoned him...
他声称父母遗弃了他。

lawful

adj. 合法的，法定的，守法的，法律许可的；

例句
It was lawful for the doctors to treat her in whatever way they considered was in her best interests...
医生们采用他们认为对她最有利的方法为她治疗是合法的。

heir

n. 继承人，后嗣，嗣子；

例句
It's only the second time a potential heir to the throne has married a commoner.
一位可能的王位继承人与平民缔结婚约，这种事还只是第二次。