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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

congee.

Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly)

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/General-American/ˈkɒndʒi/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly)

    countable · uncountable
  2. Leave, formal permission for some action, (originally and particularly): Formal permission to leave; a passport.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  3. Formal dismissal; (figurative) any dismissal; (originally & particularly humorously ironic) abrupt dismissal without ceremony.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  4. Formal leavetaking; (figurative) any farewell.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  5. A fee paid to make another go away, (particularly) alms to a persistent beggar.

    Scotland · countable · obsolete · uncountable
  6. A bow, curtsey, or other gesture (originally) made at departure but (later) including at greeting or in obeissance or respect.

    archaic · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/General-American/ˈkɒndʒi/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To give congee, (particularly) To give formal permission to leave; to dismiss.

    archaic · obsolete · transitive
  2. To give congee, (particularly) To give formal permission to do something; to license.

    archaic · obsolete · transitive
  3. To take congee: to leave ceremoniously.

    archaic
  4. To make a congee: to bow, curtsey, etc., (particularly dialectal) while leaving; (figuratively) to make obeissance, show respect, or defer to someone or something.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈkɑnd͡ʒi/General-American/ˈkɒndʒi/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A type of thick rice porridge or soup, sometimes prepared with vegetables and/or meat.

    uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

From Tamil கஞ்சி (kañci) or another Dravidian language such as Malayalam കഞ്ഞി (kaññi) (ultimately from Proto-Dravidian *kañci), possibly via Portuguese canje.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.