'congoja' originates from Spanish, specifically the Old Spanish form 'congoja'; its precise deeper origin is uncertain (no single, securely attested Latin root).

'congoja' is recorded in medieval/Old Spanish; it has remained in Spanish with the meaning of intense distress and did not undergo a radical semantic shift from earlier attestations.

Initially recorded with the sense of 'deep distress' or 'great sorrow' and has retained that core sense into modern usage.