Congys

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient Roman unit of liquid volume, equal to about six sextarii and roughly three and a quarter litres
2. A measure of liquid used in ancient Rome, roughly equivalent to a little over three litres of wine or oil
3. An old Roman standard for measuring liquids such as wine, oil and water, about eight pints in modern terms

Etymology: "Congys" is the plural of "congy," a term for an ancient Roman unit of liquid measure. It came into English from French "congé," which in turn descends from the Latin "congius," the name of a measure equal to roughly six pints. The Roman system was built around such standard vessels, and the word traveled into English as a technical term for those units rather than as an everyday word. The English form survives only in the plural "congys," which is now obsolete. The singular "congy" is essentially a back-formation from it in dictionary usage, and the word's entire life in English has been confined to antiquarian and scholarly discussions of Roman measures.