congee

Meanings

Noun

• Leave, formal permission for some action, :
• Formal dismissal; any dismissal; abrupt dismissal without ceremony.
• Formal leavetaking; any farewell.
• A fee paid to make another go away, alms to a persistent beggar.
• A bow, curtsey, or other gesture made at departure but including at greeting or in obeissance or respect.
• A type of thick rice porridge or soup, sometimes prepared with vegetables and/or meat.

Verb

• To give congee,
• To take congee: to leave ceremoniously.
• To make a congee: to bow, curtsey, etc., while leaving; to make obeissance, show respect, or defer to someone or something.

Related

Similar words

• rice porridge; rice congee
• porridge

Narrower meaning words

• jook, juk
• zhou

Origin

• From Old French congié (modern congé), from Latin commeātus, from commeō, from con- + meō. Figurative senses generally borrowed from developments in French congé.
• From Tamil கஞ்சி, via Portuguese.