different between niggardly vs flimsy

English

Etymology

niggard +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?n???dli/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n???dli/

Adjective

niggardly (comparative more niggardly, superlative most niggardly)

1. Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.

   Synonyms: miserly, stingy; see also Thesaurus:stingy

   • 1609, Joseph Hall, (paraphrasing Ambrose? in) "No Peace with Rome", in Josiah Pratt (editor), The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Joseph Hall, D. D., Vol. IX. Polemical Works, London, (1808), page 57:

     [W]here the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly.

   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 47

     They were not niggardly, these tramps, and he who had money did not hesitate to share it among the rest.

   • 1958, John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society (1998 edition), ?ISBN, p. 186:

     This manifests itself in an implacable tendency to provide an opulent supply of some things and a niggardly yield of others.

Usage notes

• This term may cause offence, especially in the US, as it is easily confused with niggerly, an adverbial form of the racial slur nigger. The two words are etymologically unrelated.

Translations

Adverb

niggardly (comparative more niggardly, superlative most niggardly)

1. (now rare) 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 […].

Translations

Further reading

• Controversies about the word "niggardly" on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

English

Etymology

Origin uncertain. First used in the 18th century. Perhaps a metathesis of film +? -s +? -y; or related to flimflam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fl?mzi/

Adjective

flimsy (comparative flimsier or more flimsy, superlative flimsiest or most flimsy)

1. Likely to bend or break under pressure.

   Synonyms: weak, shaky, flexible, fragile

   Antonyms: robust, strong, sturdy

   • 1715, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals

     All the flimsy furniture of a country miss's brain.

2. (figuratively) Weak; ill-founded.

   Synonyms: weak, feeble, unconvincing

   Antonyms: well-founded, substantiated

Translations

Noun

flimsy (plural flimsies)

1. Thin typing paper used to make multiple copies.
   • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 251:

     Smiley peered once more at the flimsy which he still clutched in his pudgy hand.

2. (naval slang) A service certificate
   • 1964, Australia. Parliament, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament

     A perusal of the comments of officers under whom he has served as recorded in his “flimsies" indicates that he has almost consistently received high commendation for his service.

   • 1994, John Wells, The Royal Navy: An Illustrated Social History, 1870-1982 (page 7)

     Regulations required a commanding officer to render annual confidential reports on the character and ability of his officers - with particular reference to sobriety - on forms known as 'flimsies'.

3. (informal, in the plural) Skimpy underwear.
4. (slang) A banknote.

Translations