congee
/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.04 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly):
Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable
noun
Formal dismissal; (figurative) any dismissal; (originally & particularly humorously ironic) abrupt dismissal without ceremony.
Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable
noun
A fee paid to make another go away, (particularly) alms to a persistent beggar.
Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "So courteous conge both did giue and take, With right hands plighted, pledges of good will."
- "As salutations, reverences, or conges, by which some doe often purchase the honour, (but wrongfully) to be humble, lowly, and courteous[…]."
- "… 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;) …"
- "So saying, he bowed with a thousand apish congês, and presented his paper to Peregrine […]."
- "“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."
- "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."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: congie, congié, commeātus, கஞ்சி, കഞ്ഞി, *kañci
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/
- British English: /ˈkɒndʒi/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.
Inflected Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
canja
dim sum