From late Middle English congie, from Old French congié, congiet (modern French congé), from Latin commeātus (“passage, permission to leave”), from commeō (“to go and come”), from con- + meō (“to go, to pass”). Figurative senses generally borrowed from developments in French congé.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly)
(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly): ▸ Formal permission to leave; a passport.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Formal dismissal; (figurative) any dismissal; (originally & particularly humorously ironic) abrupt dismissal without ceremony.
So courteous conge both did giue and take,
With right hands plighted, pledges of good will. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Formal leavetaking; (figurative) any farewell.
(Scotland, countable, obsolete, uncountable) A fee paid to make another go away, (particularly) alms to a persistent beggar.
(archaic, countable, uncountable) A bow, curtsey, or other gesture (originally) made at departure but (later) including at greeting or in obeissance or respect.
So saying, he bowed with a thousand apish congês, and presented his paper to Peregrine […]. 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, chapter 96, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume IV, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
… I therefore, at this time, shall only add this advice to you, under and by the leave of my lord;’ (and with that he made Diabolus a very low congee;) … 1682, John Bunyan, The Holy War:
As salutations, reverences, or conges, by which some doe often purchase the honour, (but wrongfully) to be humble, lowly, and courteous[…]. 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
“My daughter Rebecca, so please your Grace,” answered Isaac, with a low congee, nothing embarrassed by the Prince’s salutation, in which, however, there was at least as much mockery as courtesy. 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
His speech thus spake the Moor, and took his leave,
he and his meiny where the bátels lay:
formal farewells to chief and crews he gave,
exchanging congees with due courtesy. 1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, volume I, page 23:
From late Middle English congie, from Old French congié, congiet (modern French congé), from Latin commeātus (“passage, permission to leave”), from commeō (“to go and come”), from con- + meō (“to go, to pass”). Figurative senses generally borrowed from developments in French congé.
Meanings
(archaic, obsolete, transitive) To give congee, (particularly) ▸ To give formal permission to leave; to dismiss.
(archaic, obsolete, transitive) To give congee, (particularly) ▸ To give formal permission to do something; to license.
(archaic) To take congee: to leave ceremoniously.
(archaic) To make a congee: to bow, curtsey, etc., (particularly dialectal) while leaving; (figuratively) to make obeissance, show respect, or defer to someone or something.
From Tamil கஞ்சி (kañci) or another Dravidian language such as Malayalam കഞ്ഞി (kaññi) (ultimately from Proto-Dravidian *kañci), possibly via Portuguese canje.
Meanings
(qualifier:Asian cooking, uncountable, usually) A type of thick rice porridge or soup, sometimes prepared with vegetables and/or meat.
In a past life in Fuzhou, it represented some reality other than the one of daily congee and pickled turnips, cabbage and boiled rip soup. 2022, Ling Ma, “Peking Duck”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN:
es arroz caldo (a type of rice porridge) · ko 죽 (a type of rice porridge) · hi खीर (a type of rice porridge) · ru ри́совый отва́р (a type of rice porridge) · fr congee (a type of rice porridge) · pt canja (a type of rice porridge) · cmn 稀飯 /稀饭 (a type of rice porridge) · ja コンジー (a type of rice porridge) · sv rissoppa (a type of rice porridge) · km បបរ (a type of rice porridge) · hu rizsleves (a type of rice porridge) · yue 粥 (a type of rice porridge) · th ข้าวต้ม (a type of rice porridge) · ja 粥 (a type of rice porridge) · lo ເຂົ້າປຽກເຂົ້າ (a type of rice porridge) · lzh-lit 饘粥 (a type of rice porridge) · de Congee (a type of rice porridge) · hi गांजी (a type of rice porridge) · pl kleik ryżowy (a type of rice porridge) · de Reis-Congee (a type of rice porridge) · ml കഞ്ഞി (a type of rice porridge) · fi riisikeitto (a type of rice porridge) · mn шийжүү (a type of rice porridge) · tl lugaw (a type of rice porridge) · ms bubur (a type of rice porridge) · mnc ᡠᠶᠠᠨ ᠪᡠᡩ᠋ᠠ (a type of rice porridge) · bn জাউ (a type of rice porridge) · ja 雑炊 (a type of rice porridge) · kn ಗಂಜಿ (a type of rice porridge) · cmn 粥 (a type of rice porridge) · fi congee (a type of rice porridge) · bo འབྲས་ཐུག (a type of rice porridge) · cmn 米粥 (a type of rice porridge) · pag binulbol (a type of rice porridge) · mn шингэн будаа (a type of rice porridge) · hu rizskása (a type of rice porridge) · nan-hbl 糜 (a type of rice porridge) · sv risvälling (a type of rice porridge) · ja 白粥 (a type of rice porridge) · th โจ๊ก (a type of rice porridge) · jra čaŏ (a type of rice porridge) · ru ри́совая ка́ша (a type of rice porridge) · te గంజి (a type of rice porridge) · pam lelut (a type of rice porridge) · ta கஞ்சி (a type of rice porridge) · vi cháo (a type of rice porridge) · jra bu (a type of rice porridge) · th จุ๊ก (a type of rice porridge) · id bubur (a type of rice porridge) · my ဆန်ပြုတ် (a type of rice porridge) · ru ри́совый суп (a type of rice porridge)