niggardly

 
Pronunciation: /ˈnɪgədli/

adjective

  • ungenerous with money, time, etc.; mean: he accused the Government of being unbelievably niggardly
  • meagre and given grudgingly: niggardly allowances from the Treasury a niggardly shoestring budget

adverb

archaic
  • in a mean or meagre manner.

Derivatives

niggardliness

noun

Origin:

mid 16th century: from niggard + -ly1

The word niggardly has no connection with the highly offensive term nigger, but because of the similarity of sound and its negative meaning of ‘mean, ungenerous’ many people are uncomfortable with using it for fear of causing offence, and in the US it is now widely avoided.