What's the purpose of cycling gloves?
Cycling gloves come in different varieties (like full-fingered or half-fingered). Typically:


Cycling gloves have extra padding at the palms, which for me makes a difference when riding for hours at a time.
They protect your palms in case you attempt to use them to break a fall.
Like regular gloves, they can keep your hands warm in cold weather, especially since your hands aren't moving as much as your legs.
My particular pair of cycling gloves have a "towel" built in at the base of the thumb "finger" so I can actually wipe off water/sweat by running my fist over it.