Niggardly vs Frugal - What's the difference?
niggardly | frugal | Related terms |
Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.
* Bishop Hall
* 1919 ,
* 1958 , , The Affluent Society (1998 edition), ISBN 9780395925003,
In a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.
*, New York 2001, p.105:
Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.
*
As adjectives the difference between niggardly and frugal
is that niggardly is withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly while frugal is avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.As an adverb niggardly
is in a parsimonious way; sparingly, stingily.niggardly
English
(Controversies about the word "niggardly")Adjective
(en adjective)- Where the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly .
- They were not niggardly , these tramps, and he who had money did not hesitate to share it among the rest.
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 alsoAdverb
(en adverb)- 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.
