niggard

Meaning

Adj

1. Sparing; stinting; parsimonious.
2. Miserly or stingy.

Noun

1. A miser or stingy person; a skinflint.
2. A false bottom in a grate, used for saving fuel.

Verb

To hoard; to act stingily.

Synonyms

miser

skinflint

stingy

scrooge

cheapskate

churl

muckworm

avaricious

penny pincher

stingy person

carl

tightwad

scrimp

stinginess

ungenerous

penny-pinching

cheesparing

pinchpenny

kinflint

bean counter

pinchgut

cheese paring

cash-hungry

closefisted

curmudgeon

grabber

hunks

mingy

miserliness

miserly

moneygrubbing

niggardly

penny-pincher

scanty

Translations

avare

pingre

vrek

Geizhals

ladre

avaro

taccagno

avaro

radin

gierigaard

φιλάργυρος

duitendief

schraper

cicatero

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈnɪɡɚd]

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: nigard

Cognate with Swedish: njugg

Cognate with Swedish: niggla

Cognate with Norwegian: nigla

Cognate with German: Knicker

In summary

From Middle English nigard, nygard (“miser”), from nig (“niggardly person”), possibly of Scandinavian origin;
compare Old Icelandic hnǫggr (“miserly, stingy”), Old Norse *hniggw, with descendants Swedish njugg (“stingy”), dialectal Swedish niggla (“be stingy”), dialectal Norwegian nigla.
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hnauwjaz, source of Old English hneaw (“stingy”), replaced by Middle English nig.
Possibly cognate to niggle (“miser”).
Compare German Knicker (“niggard”), knickerig (“niggardly”). Unrelated to the word nigger, but see the usage notes.