Plural of baldness, the state or condition of having little or no hair on the head.
From Old English 'bald' meaning hairless, plus the suffix '-ness' meaning state or condition. The word has been used since at least the 1500s to describe hair loss.
Baldness appears across cultures as both a natural part of aging and a deliberate choice for style or spirituality—yet English speakers added a suffix to make an entire word just for the concept, showing how important hair was to identity.
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