English

Alternative forms

• conge [16th-17th c.]
• congé [from 18th c.]

Noun

congee ‎(plural congees)

1. Leave, formal permission for some action, originally and particularly:
   1. (obsolete) Formal permission to leave; a passport.
2. (obsolete) Formal dismissal; (figuratively) any dismissal, (originally and chiefly humorously ironic) abrupt dismissal without ceremony.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.i:

     So courteous conge both did giue and take,
     With right hands plighted, pledges of good will.

3. (obsolete) Formal leavetaking; (figuratively) any farewell.
4. (obsolete, Scotland) A fee paid to make another go away, (chiefly) alms to a persistent beggar.
5. (archaic) A bow, curtsey, or other gesture (originally) made at departure but (later) including at greeting or in obeissance or respect.
   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.17:

     As salutations, reverences, or conges, by which some doe often purchase the honour, (but wrongfully) to be humble, lowly, and courteous […].

   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     “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.

Derived terms

• give congee
• take congee

Verb

congee ‎(third-person singular simple present congees, present participle congeeing, simple past and past participle congeed)

1. (archaic) To give congee, particularly
   1. (obsolete, transitive) To give formal permission to leave; to dismiss.
   2. (obsolete, transitive) To give formal permission to do something; to license.
2. (archaic) To take congee: to leave ceremoniously.
3. (archaic) To make a congee: to bow, curtsey, &c., particularly (dialectical) while leaving; (figuratively) to make obeissance, show respect, or defer to someone or something.

Etymology 2

From Tamil கஞ்சி ‎(kañci), perhaps via Portuguese.

Alternative forms

• conjee

Noun

congee ‎(usually uncountable, plural congees)

1. (Asian cooking) A type of thick rice porridge or soup, sometimes prepared with vegetables and/or meat.

Synonyms

• rice porridge; rice congee (hypercorrect)
• (Chinese English): porridge

Hyponyms

• (Thai contexts): jook, juk
• (Chinese contexts): zhou

Derived terms

• rice congee

Translations

See also

• Wikisaurus:dim sum

References

• "congee | congé, n.²" & "v." in the Oxford English Dictionary, 1891.