Where did the word "Niggardly" come from?

[0007]

Is it a biblical term? A man of the cloth told me that it came from the Bible. Explaining that the Jews used the word to express a stingy person. Does that sound right?

[meegbear]

1. Go here ...

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=niggardly

[0007]

25. Thanks

[JimmyJazz]

2. try this article

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mniggard.html

[Gato Moteado]

3. i propose a new word.....

freepardly.

freepardly: adv. 1. in a way that endorses hate, racism, bigotry, stupidity and fascism.

[JimmyJazz]

13. I second the nomination n/t

[The Straight Story]

4. one source

http://www.jacobsen.no/anders/blog/archives/2002/09/03/american_political_correctness_the_word_niggardly.html

Despite the similarity in spelling - <...> - this word has no connection with nigger. The adverb form niggardly was formed in the sixteenth century from niggard, the name for a miser or stingy person. In the Wycliffe Bible of 1384 it was spelt nygard; earlier still it can be found as nigon, and another form nig also existed. We are pretty sure this was borrowed from a Scandinavian source, because there are related words in several Germanic languages, for example, the Old Norse hnøgger, meaning "stingy".

[pagerbear]

5. Alas, Gurunet doesn't have a history.

nig·gard·ly (nĭg'ərd-lç)
adj.
Grudging and petty in giving or spending.
Meanly small; scanty or meager: left the waiter a niggardly tip.

nig'gard·li·ness n.
nig'gard·ly adv.

[htuttle]

6. When in doubt, ask Cecil

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mniggard.html

[0007]

26. I know it is not a racist term. What I question is the Biblical aspect of

the word as told to me by this man of the cloth.

But thinks for the cool site.

BTW :hi:
Your my gong bud, remember?

[lightbulb]

7. Yeah, that's right

But the word is still ugly as hell. People who use it are showing a real lack of class IMO.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

14. No, it's not right and ... why?

what makes use of this word show a lack of class? That is baffling to me...

theProdigal

[lightbulb]

24. IMO = in my opinion

I'm not saying people shouldn't use it, but it strikes me personally as distasteful. The word "nigger" is very ugly, and the word "niggardly" instantly conjours the word "nigger" for me. Is this because I have some repressed racist tendancies? I doubt it. They just sound very similar and there are no other words in English that sound so much like "nigger".

How often do we use the word "fagot" to refer to a bundle of sticks? Not often, because when people hear it they instantly think of "faggot", a derogitory name for gay men. Granted, this is a slightly different case, but the point remains: an innocent word's use is politely avoided because of the negative association it counjours.

While I respect your opinion and don't in any way dispute its validity, I do and will contiue to feel slightly offended every time I hear the word "niggardly".

[ProdigalJunkMail]

35. you choose to see it the way you choose to see it

I just don't want the vocabulary someone uses to be held up as a negative when the word has no racially negative connotation. People are far too sensitive...I would never use this word in common conversation...but someone might...and I should not hold it against them.

theProdigal

[Cassandra]

15. It's only ugly...

if you see something in it that was never there. If the KKK starts using it (how likely is that?) then I will agree with you.

[LuminousX]

31. I'm confused... how does the word relate to 'lack of class'?

[benburch]

He's wrong on the origin.

Derived from;

nig·gard n.
A stingy, grasping person; a miser.

adj.
Stingy; miserly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
(Middle English nigard, perhaps from nig, stingy person, of Scandinavian origin.)

[0007]

28. Thank you for your insight.....

[BigMcLargehuge]

8. according to the online etymology dictionary

Niggardly's origin is:

"niggard

1366, nygart, of uncertain origin. The suffix suggests Fr. origin (cf. dastard), but the root word is probably related to O.N. hnøggr "stingy," from P.Gmc. *khnauwjaz; and to O.E. hneaw "stingy, niggardly," which did not survive in M.E."

[hlthe2b]

9. etymology of "niggardly"

The Barnhard Dictionary of Etymology traces the origins of "niggardly" to the 1300s and the words nig and nigon, meaning miser, in Middle English. It also notes possible earlier origins in languages including Old Icelandic, Old English and Middle High German. There is no mention of any racial connotation.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm

[pretzel4gore]

29. 'aboriginal' is a made up word too

you can see how it applies to 'first peoples' or original inhabitants, but it is really is a stretch. the native people of australia were not 'from' (australian) origins(?) whatever that means...also notice the same guys who dreamed up 'aborigine' for native peoples in countries they invaded also used the term 'anglo (angels) for themselves...fukken pigs

[ScreamingMeemie]

10. Here's your answer:

http://www.jacobsen.no/anders/blog/archives/2002/09/03/american_political_correctness_the_word_niggardly.html

Despite the similarity in spelling - <...> - this word has no connection with nigger. The adverb form niggardly was formed in the sixteenth century from niggard, the name for a miser or stingy person. In the Wycliffe Bible of 1384 it was spelt nygard; earlier still it can be found as nigon, and another form nig also existed. We are pretty sure this was borrowed from a Scandinavian source, because there are related words in several Germanic languages, for example, the Old Norse hnøgger, meaning "stingy".

[Cassandra]

11. There was a whole flap about this in DC...

a year or two ago. It has nothing to do with Blacks, Jews or the Bible. It's apparently from a Scandinavian word. And yes, it means stingy.

[jdsmith]

19. But why use an offensive SOUNDING word when it has synonyms?

Salon had an op-ed on this. The Washington official could have said, "Cheap" or "Stingy" or "Frugal"--etc.--but instead used one that got unwanted attention.

On the other hand, the people who dropped bombs on him for showing off his bigtime vocabulary went a little overboard since he was being a tin-eared doofus and not a bigot.

[Cassandra]

20. Until that huge flap...

some of us hadn't given the word much thought.

[Sandpiper]

21. Yes, but how stupid is it

That the guy should have to apologize because of his listeners' ignorance of the English language.

[jdsmith]

23. Insensitivity to others' dumbness is a rhetor's responsibility

I use certain words when I'm speaking to PhD's that I don't try using when I'm talking to eighteen-year-olds.

Gotta be tuned in to the register of your audience.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

22. please, let's stop using all the words we don't like

I don't like the word pudding. It sounds offensive to me on some level. Therefore, we should use the word combination flavored-goop.

theProdigal

[LuminousX]

32. Why should a perfectly good word be thrown out because it sounds similar

[jdsmith]

36. Because it "sounds similar," it's not "perfectly good"; static pops up

One of the terrific things about our language is how well-stocked it is with words that mean the same or nearly the same thing. If a word seems--to idiots, I agree--to sound "bad," then listeners will go off-message and start wondering what exactly you said.

I remember hearing my grandfather--usually word-smart--say something like "Make sure you masticate your food carefully." That was one meal I didn't make it out of with appetite intact.

[ulysses]

37. I completely disagree

English has enough problems without throwing out its well-stocked lexicon (!) because certain words remind some folks of other, unrelated words.

[jdsmith]

39. I'll drop it

Not agreeing at all with you, but I don't think we're going to get anywhere.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

38. by all means, let's dumb down the language

for the lowest common denominator. We should all just drop back to one syllable words...that would make things simpler for everyone involved. Heck...let's go back to grunts and howls...that'll even be better.

Sorry for the inflammatory response, but tearing down the language and stripping it of words that 'some people' will have a difficult time with is just backwards.

theProdigal

by the by...not implying that YOU are part of that lowest denominator...

[jdsmith]

40. Thanks

Some of my students and readers might disagree with your generosity, but. . . .

End of my (not spirited) defense of phonological sensitivity.

[rogerashton]

12. According to the American Heritage Dictionary,

it comes from the old Norse hnoggr, miserly. The o in hnoggr should have an umlaut over it meaning that the pronunciation is raised in pitch and nasalized -- between oh and eh.

[soupkitchen]

16. According to my Websters it's of Scandanavian origin

So unless the bible was originally written in Scandanavian I think your man of cloth might be misinformed.

[0007]

30. LOL! I think the man of the cloth is misinformed. He even had some

agree with him. My next move is to put up a hundred bill and tell him to find the word in the Bible for me. But I gotta make sure!!

[benburch]

33. It might BE in the KJV of the Bible.

Remember that "niggard" was in more current use in King James' time.

But whether it exists in that translation or not, the word is there to represent another word in greek, or hebrew and does not exist in the original text, which pre-dates the word's origin.

Of course, most American Protestants see the KJV as the unerrant word of God, and issues of translation are meaningless to them.

[Sandpiper]

17. No one's entirely sure

But this is the prevailing view:

From Robyn Hodges: “I wonder if you could help me find the origin of the word niggardly?”

Despite the similarity in spelling—and the huge controversy at the beginning of 1999 over its use by a member of the staff of the Mayor of Washington, DC—this word has no connection with nigger. The adverb form niggardly was formed in the sixteenth century from niggard, the name for a miser or stingy person. In the Wycliffe Bible of 1384 it was spelt nygard; earlier still it can be found as nigon, and another form nig also existed. We are pretty sure this was borrowed from a Scandinavian source, because there are related words in several Germanic languages, for example, the Old Norse hnøgger, meaning “stingy”.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-nig1.htm

[olddem43]

18. My dictionary says it derives from Norman French, possibly

Old Norwegian. The root word means to rub, pinch, or be mean. Also means small, scanty, stingy.

[humanbeing]

27. 'from the Bible'

To address the orginal poster's question, also, just because it's "from the bible" doesn't mean much at all, as there are dozens of translations of the bible -- into English alone!

[Nevernose]

34. OED -- Authoritative Answer

This is from the Oxford English Dictionary, the most authoritative source regarding the English language. It's the dictionary that all other dictionaries wish they could be:

Of obscure etym.; an earlier synonym is NIGON, and the termination in both cases would normally indicate a French origin. The rareness of the n. NIG makes it doubtful whether it is the base of both formations.

A. n.

1. A mean, stingy, or parsimonious person; a miser; one who grudgingly parts with or expends anything.

{alpha} c1374 CHAUCER Troylus III. 1379 So parfite joye may no negarde have. c1407 LYDG. Reson & Sens. 1498 Dame Venus Kan make folkys covetous to spend her good.., And the Negarde to be large. c1510 MORE Picus Wks. 18/1 The negard then saith to his money.., my god arte thou.



{beta} 1377 LANGL. P. Pl. B. xv. 136 He was a nygarde that no good my{ygh}te aspare. 1390 GOWER Conf. II. 289 This Viola largesce hath take And the nygard sche hath forsake. 1483 CAXTON Cato Evijb, Men saye comynlye that the nygarde expendeth more than the lyberalle. a1548 HALL Chron., Edw. IV 217b, An extreme nigard, and a covetous extorcioner. 1579 J. NORTHBROOKE Dicing To Rdr., If a man will not dice & plaie, then he is a nigarde & a miser, and no good fellowe.



{gamma} c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 243 He schal be holde a nyggard. c1440 Promp. Parv. 355/2 Nyggarde (or muglard or nygun, or pynchar), tenax. 1529 MORE Dyaloge III. Wks. 225/2 If they kepe fewe seruauntes we call them nyggardes. 1576 FLEMING Panopl. Epist. 291 Some are pinchpenies & notable niggards. 1606 J. CARPENTER Solomon's Solace xliii. 168 That niggard, who for feare of loosing his wealth would hide it. 1675 TRAHERNE Chr. Ethics 481 He that does brave acts abroad, but is a niggard within doors. 1720 WELTON Suffer. Son of God I. XI. 280 As for the stingy Niggard, He benefits none, no, not even himself. 1748 RICHARDSON Clarissa (1811) I. xiii. 88 Riches left by one niggard to another. 1830 D'ISRAELI Chas. I, III. viii. 163 This monarch was no niggard when he once showered the largess of his royal friendship. 1886 JESSOPP in 19th Cent. Apr. 519 It would not be permitted to a niggard to let the parsonage fall into disrepair.



transf. 1752 YOUNG Brothers V. i, 'Tis impious to be niggards in delight. 1776 PAINE Com. Sense (1791) 61 That narrowness of soul..which the niggards of all professions are so unwilling to part with. 1838 LYTTON Leila I. v, They shall not, at least, call the Jews niggards in revenge. 1878 BROWNING La Saisiaz 290 Praise or blame of its contriver, shown a niggard or profuse In each good or evil issue!


b. Const. of.

c1386 CHAUCER Wife's T. 407 Old and angry nygardes of despense, God send hem sone verray pestilence. 1540-1 ELYOT Image Gov. (1544) 50 He was suche a nygard of tyme, that he was meruaylousely greued, if he spente any day in solace. 1593 DRAYTON Ecl. ii. 48 Thy wasted lungs be Niggards of thy breath. 1633 P. FLETCHER Poet. Misc. 64 A crown of wood-nymphs..Sit round about, no niggards of their faces. 1660 F. BROOKE tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 56 They..are not niggards of their lives in their Princes service. 1709 POPE Ess. Crit. 580 Be niggards of advice on no pretence, For the worst avarice is that of sense. 1772 MACKENZIE Man World I. v, He who never trusts, is a niggard of his soul. 1862 GOULBURN Pers. Relig. IV. xi. (1873) 349 So long as he thinks Him a niggard either of pardon or grace.


2. dial. A movable piece of iron or fire-brick placed in the side or bottom of a grate to economize fuel; a false bottom. Also niggard iron.

1688 HOLME Armoury III. xiv. (Roxb.) 9/1 The seuerall parts of a great are these... The niggatt Irons, Irons to set further or closer to gather. 1820 C. R. MATURIN Melmoth I. i. 17 Go down and draw the niggers of the kitchen fire closer. 1851 MAYHEW Lond. Labour II. 6 Niggards, generally called niggers (i.e. false bottoms for grates). 1869- in north. dial. glossaries (Northumbld., Cumbld., Lancs., Chesh.).


B. adj.

1. Miserly, parsimonious, mean, sparing; unwilling to give or spend anything.

?a1366 CHAUCER Rom. Rose 1172 A fulle gret fool is he, ywys, That bothe riche and nygart is. 1515 BARCLAY Egloges IV. Cvjb, Though thou be nigard, & nought will geue of thine. c1530 H. RHODES Bk. Nurture 761 in Babees Bk. (1868) 103 A man that is a niggard churle no tyme is lyberall. 1598 BARNFIELD Compl. Poetrie vi, What infernall furie late hath haunted Their niggard purses? 1623 PENKETHMAN Handf. Hon. I. xxix, Niggard or Couetous thou shalt not seeme. 1681 DRYDEN Abs. & Achit. 369 Why am I scanted by a Niggard Birth? 1725 POPE Odyss. XIV. 242 What by niggard Fortune was deny'd. 1794 COLERIDGE Monody on Chatterton, A prodigal nature and a niggard doom. 1825 BENTHAM Ration. Reward 35 Will they be supposed so mean as to be niggard with pence and lavish with millions? 1884 JENNINGS Croker Papers I. viii. 237 paid off his personal grudges with no niggard hand.


b. Const. of.

1602 SHAKES. Ham. III. i. 13 Niggard of question, but of our demands Most free in his reply. 1812 BYRON Ch. Har. II. xlix, Here dwells the caloyer, nor rude is he, Nor niggard of his cheer. 1842 J. WILSON Chr. North (1857) II. 328 The heavens are niggard of their dues.


{dag}c. Hard, unyielding. Obs. rare{em}1.

1600 Dr. Dodypoll III. iii. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 131 Then thy soft feete Would be repining at these niggard stones.


2. Of actions and qualities: Niggardly, ungenerous, displaying reluctance to give anything.

1672 DRYDEN Assignation V. iv, To restore her to you, Is not an act of generosity, But a scant, niggard justice. 1794 SULLIVAN View Nat. V. 373 To pass over with niggard and reluctant mention, the illustrious virtues of those, who . 1847 R. W. HAMILTON Rewards & Punishm. viii. (1853) 361 Ours are no niggard views. a1860 J. A. ALEXANDER Gospel Jesus Christ xv. (1861) 206 held fast with a niggard grasp the keys of heaven.


3. Scanty; given in a grudging way.

1751 ELIZA HEYWOOD Betsy Thoughtless IV. 45, I confess myself utterly unable to maintain a family, like ours, on the nigard stipend you have allotted to that purpose. 1821-2 SHELLEY Chas. I, I. 159 To them who earn The niggard wages of the earth. 1877 GLADSTONE Glean. IV. 356 She obtained..but niggard measures either of aid or justice from the Powers of Europe.


b. Of a way, space, etc.: Narrow, small.

1595 DANIEL Civ. Wars I. xlviii, There was A niggard narrow way for men to passe. 1813 SCOTT Rokeby II. vii, A flinty footpath's niggard space. 1868 SILL Poems, Hermitage xix, Here is no niggard gap of sky above.


C. Comb., as niggard-like, -measured adjs.

1741 RICHARDSON Pamela (1824) I. 169 What is my single happiness, if I suffer it, niggard-like, to extend no farther than to myself? 1881 H. PHILLIPS tr. Chamisso's Faust 5 In visions passed the niggard-measured hours.

[jdsmith]

41. Homework

How have recent filmed versions of _Hamlet_ dealt with "Niggard of question"? Especially Branagh, with his "film every word" credo (though he did, I noticed, change "sith" to "since" and hope nobody'd notice).

[MsMagnificent]

42. Etymology is Old English, from the Nordic/Germanic

and predates "Nigger" by at least 300 years.

"The adverb form niggardly was formed in the sixteenth century from niggard, the name for a miser or stingy person. In the Wycliffe Bible of 1384 it was spelt nygard; earlier still it can be found as nigon, and another form nig also existed. We are pretty sure this was borrowed from a Scandinavian source, because there are related words in several Germanic languages, for example, the Old Norse hnøgger, meaning "stingy"."