congee

¹

[ kon-jee, ‐zhey ]

noun

1. congé.

verb (used without object)

, Obsolete.

, con·geed, con·gee·ing.

1. to take one's leave.
2. to bow ceremoniously.

congee

²

[ kon-jee ]

noun

1. (in East Asian, especially Chinese, cuisine) a thick rice porridge.

Word History and Origins

Origin of congee¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English noun congie, congye, from Middle French congié, Old French congié, from Latin commeātus “furlough, leave of absence” literally, “passage, coming and going,” equivalent to commeā(re) “to go, travel” (from com- + meāre “to proceed, pass, travel”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; verb derived from noun; com-

Origin of congee²

First recorded in 1695–1700; from Tamil kañci, kañji

Example Sentences

The secret part was that they wouldn’t give their names — gimmicky, until you heard they wanted to share the credit as a collective, and until you tasted the congee, at which point, nothing else mattered.

From Seattle Times

Much like someone might refer to a dish like congee as a comfort food, rice pudding is within that same frame of reference.

From Salon

By her preteen years, Ms. Komara said, she had left school and was roaming the alleys of Hong Kong, with their topless bars luring sailors and congee burbling in diners.

From New York Times

Dawn's black venus congee with black bean and five spiced braised oxtail, with rice that was "fried from raw," is, as expected, not great.

From Salon

Walking to my car after lunch, I passed Young Cafe, a Taiwanese spot filled with diners huddled over plates loaded with fried pork cutlets, dumplings and bowls of steaming congee.

From Seattle Times