Recent from talks
Controversies about the word niggardly
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Controversies about the word niggardly
In the United States, there have been several controversies involving the misunderstanding of the word niggardly, an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", because of its phonetic similarity to nigger, an ethnic slur used against black people. Although the two words are etymologically unrelated, niggard is nonetheless often replaced with a synonym. People have faced misplaced backlash for using the word.
Niggard, arising in the Middle Ages, long predates nigger, which arose in the 18th century.
Brutus:
The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity.
Which we will niggard with a little rest
There is no more to say?
Niggardly (noun: niggard) is an adjective meaning 'stingy' or 'miserly'. Niggard (14th C) is derived from the Middle English word meaning 'stingy,' nigon, which is probably derived from two other words also meaning 'stingy,' Old Norse hnǫggr and Old English hnēaw. The word niggle, which in modern usage means to give excessive attention to minor details, probably shares an etymology with niggardly.
Nigger, a racial slur widely considered to be offensive, derives from the Spanish word Negro, meaning 'black', and the French word nègre. Both negro and noir (and therefore also nègre and nigger) ultimately come from the Latin adjective niger, 'black' or 'dark'. The first recorded use of nigger dates to 1574, and its first recorded derogatory use to 1775. Plays on the similarity of the two words date back at least a century, one example being a piece of sheet music from 1900.[original research?]
On January 15, 1999, David Howard, an aide to the mayor of Washington, D.C., Anthony A. Williams, used "niggardly" in reference to a budget. This upset one of his black colleagues, who misinterpreted it as a racial slur and lodged a complaint. As a result, on January 25, Howard tendered his resignation, and Williams accepted it.
After public pressure, an internal review into the matter was brought about, and the mayor offered Howard the chance to return to his position at the Office of the Public Advocate on February 4. Howard refused but accepted another position with the mayor instead, insisting that he did not feel victimized by the incident. On the contrary, Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind; that's naïve, especially for a white person, because a white person [can] afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An African American does."
It had been speculated that this incident inspired Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain, though Roth has stated that his source was an incident in the career of sociologist and professor Melvin Tumin.
Hub AI
Controversies about the word niggardly AI simulator
(@Controversies about the word niggardly_simulator)
Controversies about the word niggardly
In the United States, there have been several controversies involving the misunderstanding of the word niggardly, an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", because of its phonetic similarity to nigger, an ethnic slur used against black people. Although the two words are etymologically unrelated, niggard is nonetheless often replaced with a synonym. People have faced misplaced backlash for using the word.
Niggard, arising in the Middle Ages, long predates nigger, which arose in the 18th century.
Brutus:
The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
And nature must obey necessity.
Which we will niggard with a little rest
There is no more to say?
Niggardly (noun: niggard) is an adjective meaning 'stingy' or 'miserly'. Niggard (14th C) is derived from the Middle English word meaning 'stingy,' nigon, which is probably derived from two other words also meaning 'stingy,' Old Norse hnǫggr and Old English hnēaw. The word niggle, which in modern usage means to give excessive attention to minor details, probably shares an etymology with niggardly.
Nigger, a racial slur widely considered to be offensive, derives from the Spanish word Negro, meaning 'black', and the French word nègre. Both negro and noir (and therefore also nègre and nigger) ultimately come from the Latin adjective niger, 'black' or 'dark'. The first recorded use of nigger dates to 1574, and its first recorded derogatory use to 1775. Plays on the similarity of the two words date back at least a century, one example being a piece of sheet music from 1900.[original research?]
On January 15, 1999, David Howard, an aide to the mayor of Washington, D.C., Anthony A. Williams, used "niggardly" in reference to a budget. This upset one of his black colleagues, who misinterpreted it as a racial slur and lodged a complaint. As a result, on January 25, Howard tendered his resignation, and Williams accepted it.
After public pressure, an internal review into the matter was brought about, and the mayor offered Howard the chance to return to his position at the Office of the Public Advocate on February 4. Howard refused but accepted another position with the mayor instead, insisting that he did not feel victimized by the incident. On the contrary, Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind; that's naïve, especially for a white person, because a white person [can] afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An African American does."
It had been speculated that this incident inspired Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain, though Roth has stated that his source was an incident in the career of sociologist and professor Melvin Tumin.