niggard

nig·gard

N0100900 (nĭg′ərd)n. A stingy, grasping person; a miser.adj. Stingy; miserly.

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[Middle English nigard, perhaps from nig, stingy person, of Scandinavian origin.]

niggard

(ˈnɪɡəd) na stingy personadjarchaic miserly[C14: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; related to Swedish dialect nygg and Old English hnēaw stingy]

nig•gard

(ˈnɪg ərd) Sometimes Offensive.
n. 1. an extremely stingy person. adj. 2. niggardly; stingy. [1325–75; Middle English nyggard=nig niggard (< Scandinavian; compare dial. Swedish nygg; akin to Old English hnēaw stingy) + -ard -ard] usage: The words niggard and niggardly are sometimes perceived as insulting because they sound like the highly offensive word nigger. However, niggard dates back to Middle English. The first element nygg-, nig- was borrowed from a Scandinavian source, and -ard is a pejorative suffix. The English word niggardly is a modern English formation from niggard. Therefore the two words are not etymologically related to nigger. See also nigger.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

niggard - a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spendscrooge, skinflint, churlhoarder - a person who accumulates things and hides them away for future usepinchgut - a niggardly person who starves himself (and others)

niggard

nounA stingy person:miser, Scrooge, skinflint.Informal: penny pincher.Slang: cheapskate, stiff, tightwad.adjectiveUngenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money:cheap, close, close-fisted, costive, hard-fisted, mean, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, petty, pinching, stingy, tight, tightfisted.

Translations