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niggardn.adj. Origin: Probably formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: nig n.1, -ard suffix. Etymology: Probably < nig n.1 + -ard suffix.Some Middle English forms with -e- in the first syllable (see β. forms) must have been pronounced with a long open ē , evidenced in later English regional and Irish English use by such spellings as neager , nagur , naygur , neygar , etc., showing merger of the reflex of this vowel with the reflexes of Middle English ā and ai . Forms with loss of final -d or -t (see γ. forms) may perhaps show suffix substitution (compare -er suffix1); such forms are not attested between the end of the Middle English period and the second half of the 18th cent., making continuity of use unlikely (but compare niggerality n., and also forms s.v. niggardly adj., niggardness n., niggardship n.). In the later period there is coincidence in form and pronunciation in some regional varieties with nigger n. and neger n., which may have influenced the development of sense A. 1c (which is only found in forms without a final -d or -t). Indeed some examples given below may belong at these entries; compare Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Nigger sb.1 (which records pronunciations with /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /iː/, and /eː/) and Sc. National Dict. s.vv. Neeger, Niggar. A. n. 1. the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [noun] > niggard or mean person α. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) 1 Cor. vi. 10 Neither lecchours..nether coueitouse men, or nygardis..schulen weelde the kyngdom of God. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) v. 4850 (MED) This Viola largesce hath take, And the nygard sche hath forsake. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 136 He was a nygarde that no good myȝte aspare. c1450 J. Capgrave (Arun. 396) (1893) i. 883 (MED) We shul fare elles as these nygardes [v.r. negardes] doo, ley vp here gold and [euyr] whil thei spare. 1483 W. Caxton tr. E vij b Men saye comynlye that the nygarde expendeth more than the lyberalle. 1548 f. ccxviiv An extreme nigard, and a couetous extorcioner. ?1577 J. Northbrooke To Rdr. sig. A.iiijv If a man will not dice, and play, then he is a nigard and a miser, and no good fellow. 1636 T. Heywood (1640) iii. i Churle beauty, beautious nigard, thus I'le chide, Why didst thou from mine eyes this glory hide? 1710 W. Congreve Eleventh Satire of Juvenal in III. 939 If Fortune has a Nigard been to thee, Devote thy self to Thrift, not Luxury. c1395 G. Chaucer 1263 Olde and angry nygardes [c1415 Corpus Oxf. nyggardes] of dispence God sende hem soone verray pestilence. c1400 (Bodl.) 126 (MED) Whanne oure Lord is large of his drinke, be not we scarse nygardus þerof to parte wiþ oþere. 1541 T. Elyot xxiv. f. 50 He was suche a nygard of tyme, that he was meruaylously greued, yf he spente any daye in solace. 1593 M. Drayton ii. sig. B4 Thy wearied lungs be niggards of thy breath. 1633 P. Fletcher Poeticall Misc. 64 in A crown of wood-nymphs..Sit round about, no niggards of their faces. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc 56 They..are not niggards of their lives in their Princes service. 1711 A. Pope 33 Be Niggards of Advice on no Pretence; For the worst Avarice is that of Sense. 1772 H. Mackenzie i. v He who never trusts, is a niggard of his soul. 1843 G. Borrow (ed. 2) III. xi. 202 As I had no hopes of a fresh supply, I was almost tempted to be a niggard of the few which remained. 1862 E. M. Goulburn II. iii. xi. 249 So long as we think Him a niggard either of pardon or grace. 1871 ‘G. Eliot’ i. 117 You will not be a niggard of your joy And chide the eagerness that came to share it. the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > callousness or hard-heartedness > person 1790 J. Byng Diary 9 June in (1935) II. 164 A grove of tall trees..if Mr H: suffers them to be fell'd, he must be a Neger. 1792 G. Galloway 19 An illiterate kintra niggar, Blest wi' a smart external figure. 1818 W. Scott iv. 70 He had gien her a loundering wi' his cane, the neger that he was! 1825 J. T. Brockett Neagre, a term of reproach, equivalent to a base wretch; though often confined to a mean, niggardly person. 1827 J. Watt 72 Ay sauntrin' like a dolt ane's lain A niegre daubit. 1851 H. Mayhew II. 231/1 One..described to me as a ‘feather dresser to an out-and-out negur’. 1877 F. Ross et al. Neeagur, a negro; also, a contemptible fellow; a stingy niggard. 1888 H. Smart II. vii The divil a ha'penny have I parted with to the old nagur! 1996 C. I. Macafee 235/2 Nigger, naiger,..a niggard, a miser..an unprincipled, worthless person..a lout, a coarse, insensitive person..a reckless fellow. the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace > false bottom to economize fuel 1688 R. Holme (1905) iii. xiv. 9/1 The seuerall parts of a great are these... The niggatt Irons, Irons to set further or closer to gather. 1710 in B. Trinder & J. Cox (1980) 233 One Iron grate with two Nigots. 1820 C. R. Maturin I. i. 25 Go down and draw the niggers of the kitchen fire closer. 1851 H. Mayhew II. 6/2 Niggards, generally called niggers (i.e., false bottoms for grates). 1869 J. P. Morris 67 Niggert, a piece of iron placed at the side of a fire grate to contract its width and save coals. 1894 R. O. Heslop Niggarts, side pieces of iron or firebrick used to contract the fire space in a fire grate. 1895 17 Aug. 3/8 Nigger, an end-iron, q.v.; Todmorden. 1985 K. Howarth Nigget-iron, a small iron plate used to cut off heat from under the oven in the old-time grate. 1996 C. I. Macafee 235/2 Nigger, naiger,..a fire-brick, a false side or bottom to a grate. B. adj. Now chiefly literary. 1. the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Vesp.) (1873) C. xx. 219 (MED) Nygard [c1400 Huntington be ingrat to þy kynde, The holygost..ne helpeth þe, be thow certayn]. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) 1172 A full gret fool is he..That bothe riche and nygard is. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) ii. 2602 (MED) Argus eyen..In nygard hertis be oft sythes blynde. ?1521 A. Barclay sig. Cv Though ye be negard, & nought wylt gyue of thyne. 1577 H. Rhodes (new ed.) sig. Dviiiv A man that is a niggard churle no tyme is lyberall. 1598 R. Barnfield Complaint of Poetrie vi, in sig. A4 What infernall furie late hath haunted Their niggard purses? 1600 iii. sig. E2 Then your soft feete, Would be repining at these niggard stones. 1623 J. Penkethman tr. Cato i. xxix Niggard or Couetous thou shalt not seeme. 1681 J. Dryden 12 Why am I Scanted by a Niggard Birth? 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer III. xiv. 242 What by niggard Fortune was deny'd. a1774 R. Fergusson (1785) 216 A niggard, near-gawn elf! 1825 J. Bentham 35 Will they be supposed so mean as to be niggard with pence and lavish with millions? 1884 L. J. Jennings in I. viii. 237 [He] paid off his personal grudges with no niggard hand. 1907 W. Irvine tr. N. Manucci II. 80 They are afraid to spend money even when it is necessary; fond of receiving, niggard in giving. 1948 E. Pound lxxxi. 99 Pull down thy vanity, Rathe to destroy, niggard in charity. 1991 E. S. Connell (1992) 24 I point out how treasure flows to chattermag niggard hucksters marketing pinchbeck remedies meant for a Lazaret. 1601 T. Powell sig. Dv When our Lampes are niggard of their light, Th' infused Oyle makes smoake to burne more bright. 1604 W. Shakespeare iii. i. 14 Niggard of question, but of our demaunds Most free in his reply. View more context for this quotation a1764 C. Churchill Rosciad in (1933) 44 Envy would drive the colour from his cheek; But step-dame Nature, niggard of her grace, Denied the social powers of voice and face. 1812 Ld. Byron ii. xlviii. 85 Here dwells the caloyer, nor rude is he, Nor niggard of his cheer. 1842 J. Wilson III. 337 The heavens are niggard of their dews. 1893 F. W. Bourdillon September in 36 Wayward guest..gently breakest the message, That days more niggard of light And the flight Of gathering swallows presage. 1910 I. 557/2 Napoleon was prodigal of promises, but niggard of their fulfilment. the world > space > [adjective] > confined, restricted, or insufficiently spacious 1595 S. Daniel ii. xlix. sig. I2 There was A niggard narrow way for men to passe. 1813 W. Scott ii. 64 A flinty footpath's niggard space. 1868 E. R. Sill Hermitage in xix Here is no niggard gap of sky above. 1918 Feb. 36/1 Around the croft was a niggard space of cultivated land, yielding with bitter toil a few oats and a few potatoes. the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] > marked by or betokening meanness 1673 J. Dryden v. iv. 73 To restore her to you Is not an act of generosity, But a scant, niggard Justice. 1794 R. J. Sulivan V. 373 To pass over with niggard and reluctant mention, the illustrious virtues of those, who [etc.]. 1839 5 193/1 The lust of gain..is infinitely more rapacious..than the nigard parsimony of the miser. a1860 J. A. Alexander (1861) xv. 206 [They] held fast with a niggard grasp the keys of heaven. 1887 J. Rhoades i. 18 By niggard glance and hint inhospitable, Our ducal state all patched and out at heels? 1966 E. Feinstein 16 Bully to prudish aunts Whose niggard habits taught them to assess Honest advantage, without rhetoric. the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount 1751 E. Haywood IV. v. 45 I confess myself utterly unable to maintain a family, like our's, on the nigard stipend you have allotted for that purpose. a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I i, in (1824) 241 To them who earn The niggard wages of the earth. 1877 W. E. Gladstone in Aug. 158 She obtained..but niggard measures either of aid or justice from the Powers of Europe. 1937 L. Ginsberg 82 Virtue was her only vice: With a niggard ration, Tutoring herself to ice, She would hoard starvation. 1958 W. C. Williams v. §3 She earned her niggard indigence doing reviews. Compounds the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount 1881 H. Phillips tr. L. C. A. von Chamisso 5 In visions passed the niggard-measured hours. Derivatives the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] 1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello f. 208 Who..exceded theym all in liberall disposicion and gifte of bowntie, detesting the nigardlike order of the Jenoways. 1740 S. Richardson II. 200 What is my single Happiness, if I suffer it, Niggard-like, to extend no further than myself? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † niggardv.Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: niggard n. Obsolete. the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > be niggardly or mean [verb (intransitive)] 1596 sig. B3 Then, deare my liege, now niggard not thy state, Being at the wall, enter our homely gate. 1609 R. Armin sig. B1v Now not to niggard it at all, But ioyne as partner yit. a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher (1634) i. iv. 32 All our Surgions Convent in their behoofe, our richest balmes Rather then niggard wast. View more context for this quotation the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > be niggardly of [verb (transitive)] > treat in niggardly manner a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. ii. 280 Nature must obey Necessitie, Which we will niggard with a little rest. View more context for this quotation Derivatives 1609 W. Shakespeare i. sig. B Thou..Within thine owne bud buriest thy content, And tender chorle makst wast in niggarding . View more context for this quotation This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online September 2018). <  n.adj.c1384 v.1596 |
