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Measly vs Niggardly - What's the difference?

measly | niggardly | Related terms |

Measly is a related term of niggardly.


As adjectives the difference between measly and niggardly

is that measly is small in amount, contemptibly so or measly can be infected with measles while niggardly is withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.

As an adverb niggardly is

in a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.

measly

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl)

Adjective

(er)
  • Small in amount, contemptibly so.

    • Etymology 2

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Infected with measles
  • Infected with larval tapeworms
  • Infected with trichinae

    • niggardly

    English

    (Controversies about the word "niggardly")

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.
  • * Bishop Hall
    • Where the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly .
  • * 1919 ,
    • They were not niggardly , these tramps, and he who had money did not hesitate to share it among the rest.
  • * 1958 , , The Affluent Society (1998 edition), ISBN 9780395925003, p. 186:
    • This manifests itself in an implacable tendency to provide an opulent supply of some things and a niggardly yield of others.

    Synonyms

    * miserly, stingy. * See also

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.
  • *, New York 2001, p.105:
    • because many families are compelled to live niggardly , exhaust and undone by great dowers, none shall be given at all, or very little […].

    Usage notes

    * This term may cause offence as it is easily misinterpreted to be an adverbial form of the racial epithet (nigger). Racist Language, Real and Imagined , Steven Pinker. February 2, 1999. The New York Times (editorial). The two words are etymologically unrelated.

    References

    See also

    * (Controversies about the word "niggardly")