niggardly

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Contents

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Etymology

From niggard + -ly.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA: /ˈnɪɡədli/
  • (US) IPA: /ˈnɪɡɚdli/

[edit] Adjective

niggardly (comparative more niggardly, superlative most niggardly)

  1. (now rare) Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Adverb

niggardly (comparative more niggardly, superlative most niggardly)

  1. (now rare) In a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York 2001, p. 105:
      because many families are compelled to live niggardly, exhaust and undone by great dowers, none shall be given at all, or very little [...].

[edit] Usage notes

  • Use of this word is vanishingly rare in the United States, and it is likely to be misunderstood. Some people have found this term offensive, because it looks or sounds like the term nigger. The two words are unrelated. See also Wikipedia:Niggardly.
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