gratification

What it means

1. countableuncountableThe act of gratifying or pleasing, either the mind, or the appetite or taste.

   gratification of the heart    gratification of the palate

   2 more examples

   I know nothing of Mr. Courtenaye; but I can perceive enough of this affair to see that he is one of those who, for a moment's selfish gratification, or for the yet meaner love of gratified vanity, will excite the deepest feelings, and trifle with the dearest hopes of all who trust them!

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 295–296

   Many of the so-called rites of these secret societies were so patently ridiculous, that it is quite obvious that they were merely an excuse for men and women to indulge in sex-play and lustful gratification, frequently of an abnormal kind.

   1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 161

   Synonyms: gladness

2. countableuncountableA gratuity; a reward.
3. uncountableA feeling of pleasure; satisfaction.

   To my gratification he told me I could reënter the institution, and that he would trust me to pay the debt when I could.

   1900, Booker T[aliaferro] Washington, “Helping Others”, in Up from Slavery: An Autobiography, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Co., published 1901, →OCLC, page 66

   1 more example

   I will tell you all my faults frankly beforehand. I am very vain, for I cultivate my vanity on a principle, and cannot understand why we should neglect such a source of gratification.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Confidence”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 102

   Synonyms: delight, enjoyment, gladness, fruition

In a sentence

gratification of the heart    gratification of the palate

Where it comes from

1. Latingrātificō“to do a favor to, oblige, please, gratify”
2. Middle Frenchgratification
3. Latingrātificātiō
4. Englishgratification

From Latin grātificātiō either directly or through Middle French gratification, from Latin grātificō (“to do a favor to, oblige, please, gratify”), from grātus (“kind, pleasing”) + faciō (“to make”).