DictionaryRoot: nigard
Middle English

nigard

miser; stingy person

1 / 1
An affluent-looking man guards a substantial pile of coins and refuses a request for a small contribution, visibly contrasting his abundance with his unwillingness to give.
noun

niggard

NIG-erd/nˈɪɡɝd/

A person unwilling to spend or share money.

Etymology

Middle English nigard already meant a miser. Its origin is uncertain, though its ending suggests the disparaging person-label suffix -ard, fitting the word’s disapproval of someone unwilling to spend or give.

Full entry

Related word entries