different between niggardly vs frugal

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

From Middle French, from Latin frugalis (“virtuous, thrifty”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f?u???l/
• Rhymes: -u???l

Adjective

frugal (comparative more frugal, superlative most frugal)

1. Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.

Synonyms

• cheap
• economical
• thrifty
• See also Thesaurus:frugal

Antonyms

• lavish
• prodigal
• spendthrift

Derived terms

• frugality

Translations

Further reading

• frugal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• frugal in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin fr?g?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f?y.?al/

Adjective

frugal (feminine singular frugale, masculine plural frugaux, feminine plural frugales)

1. frugal, austere

Related terms

• frugalement
• frugalité

Further reading

• “frugal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Etymology

From Latin fr?g?lis.

Adjective

frugal m or f (plural frugais)

1. frugal, economical

German

Etymology

From French frugal, from Latin frugalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [f?u??a?l]
• Hyphenation: fru?gal

Adjective

frugal (comparative frugaler, superlative am frugalsten)

1. frugal

Declension

Further reading

• “frugal” in Duden online

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin fr?g?lis.

Adjective

frugal (plural frugais, comparable)

1. frugal, economical

Romanian

Etymology

From French frugal, from Latin frugalis.

Adjective

frugal m or n (feminine singular frugal?, masculine plural frugali, feminine and neuter plural frugale)

1. frugal

Declension

Related terms

• frugalitate

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin fr?g?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f?u??al/, [f?u???al]

Adjective

frugal (plural frugales)

1. frugal, economical