niggardly

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From niggard + -ly.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

niggardly (comparative more niggardly, superlative most niggardly)

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

     Where the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly.

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 47

     They were not niggardly, these tramps, and he who had money did not hesitate to share it among the rest.

   • 1958, John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1998 edition), ISBN 9780395925003, p. 186:

     This manifests itself in an implacable tendency to provide an opulent supply of some things and a niggardly yield of others.

Synonyms

• miserly, stingy.
• See also Wikisaurus:stingy

Translations

withholding

• Dutch: krenterig (nl), gierig (nl)

• Maori: matewhēngoi (mi)
• Spanish: (rehuso) malicioso (es) m

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 [...].

Usage notes

• 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.