Adjacent Words

Niggard definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NIGGARD, n. [straight, narrow; to haggle, to be sordidly parsimonious; exhibiting analogies similar to those of wretch, wreck and haggle.] A miser; a person meanly close and covetous; a sordid wretch who saves every cent, or spends grudgingly.
Serve him as a grudging master, As a penurious niggard of his wealth.
Be niggards of advice on no pretense.
NIGGARD, a.
1. Miserly; meanly covetous; sordidly parsimonious.
2. Sparing; wary.
Most free of question , but to our demands Niggard in his reply.
NIGGARD, v.t. To stint; to supply sparingly. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend [syn: niggard, skinflint, scrooge, churl]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hnøggr niggardly; akin to Old English hn?aw niggardly Date: 14th century a meanly covetous and stingy person ; miser • niggard adjective II. verb Date: circa 1600 intransitive verb obsolete to act niggardly transitive verb obsolete to treat in a niggardly manner

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. a mean or stingy person. --adj. archaic = NIGGARDLY. Etymology: ME, alt. f. earlier (obs.) nigon, prob. of Scand. orig.: cf. NIGGLE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Niggard Nig"gard, n. [Icel. hn["o]ggr niggardly, stingy + -ard; cf. Sw. njugg, AS. hne['a]w.] A person meanly close and covetous; one who spends grudgingly; a stingy, parsimonous fellow; a miser. --Chaucer. A penurious niggard of his wealth. --Milton. Be niggards of advice on no pretense. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Niggard Nig"gard, a. Like a niggard; meanly covetous or parsimonious; niggardly; miserly; stingy.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Niggard Nig"gard, v. t. & i. To act the niggard toward; to be niggardly. [R.] --Shak.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Miser, curmudgeon, churl, hunks, lickpenny, skinflint, scrimp, screw, mean fellow, sordid wretch. II. a. Parsimonious, miserly, covetous, sparing, stinted, niggardly.

Moby Thesaurus

Silas Marner, cheapskate, cheeseparing, churl, close, curmudgeon, grudging, mean, mingy, miser, miserly, muckworm, niggardly, penny pincher, penny-pinching, penurious, pinchfist, pinchgut, pinchpenny, save-all, scrooge, shabby, skinflint, sordid, stiff, tight, tightwad