congé
Americannoun
-
leave-taking; farewell.
-
permission to depart.
-
sudden dismissal.
-
a bow or obeisance.
-
Architecture. a concave molding, as an apophyge, formed by a quadrant curving away from a given surface and terminating perpendicular to a fillet parallel to that surface.
noun
-
permission to depart or dismissal, esp when formal
-
a farewell
-
architect a concave moulding See also cavetto
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of congé
From French, dating back to 1695–1705; see origin at congee
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He is rather down, poor fellow, as his congé drags on and they seem in no hurry at the Foreign Office to give him another post.
From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Waddington, Mary King
A sense of security regained, precariously regained—a current of silent but mutual congratulations—ran between the Bedford and the Norfolk hotels at Brighton when Lady Lucy had received her congé.
From Second String by Hope, Anthony
“Gone to get his congé, Flick,” said Vanleigh.
From Thereby Hangs a Tale Volume One by Fenn, George Manville
After the death of Abbess Agnes Gascoigne in July 1529, the nineteen nuns of Elstow, having received Henry VIII’s congé d’élire, assembled in their chapter house on August 9th, to elect her successor.
From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen
So saying, she turns from him, as though anxious to give him a gentle congé.
From Airy Fairy Lilian by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton (AKA Duchess)
Boiardo did not disdain to assume the style of a minstrel addressing his courtly audience with compliments and congés at the beginning and ending of each canto.
From Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature Part 1 (of 2) by Symonds, John Addington
Nominally, the army is about 200,000 men, but it is whispered that numerous congés are given, in order to divert the funds that are thus saved to other objects.
From Recollections of Europe by Cooper, James Fenimore
They then made me many apologies and congés, stretching forth their hands in token of friendship; in short, they now behaved with as much civility as before with rudeness.
From Memoirs and Historical Chronicles of the Courts of Europe Marguerite de Valois, Madame de Pompadour, and Catherine de Medici by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
