glories

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of glory.

   The autumn glories of the forest drew crowds of hikers each year.

   Visitors came to admire the architectural glories of the old city.

   Note

   The plural turns abstract splendor into things you can point to: the glories of an old city are its monuments and achievements. Past glories is a natural pairing. Shi Jiangtao, writing in 2012, describes Shaoyang as almost forgotten despite its past glories. Optics counts glories too: these are the concentric rings of light that form on mist or cloud opposite the sun or moon.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of glory.

   The old veteran glories in recounting battles fought long ago.

   She glories in the freedom her new life finally affords her.

   Note

   The verb almost always reaches its object through in. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), Thomas Hardy has a man who "glories in what happened." To glory in something is to exult in it, and context decides whether that sounds like joy or like boasting. The spelling is shared with the noun plural, so a subject in front (she glories) is what tells you it is the verb.

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