Plural of gladness; multiple instances or types of the feeling of happiness, joy, or satisfaction.
From gladness (glad plus -ness, a suffix creating abstract nouns for qualities or states), plus the plural -es. Gladness is an ancient word formation in English dating back to Old English.
The word 'gladness' sounds almost Shakespearean or biblical to modern ears, but it's still technically correct! We prefer to say 'happiness' or 'joy' now, showing how some words fade away even though they're perfectly functional. Language chooses its favorites.
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