Controversies About The Word "niggardly"
In the United States, there have been several controversies concerning the word "niggardly," an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly," due to its phonetic similarity to the racial slur "nigger." Etymologically the two words are unrelated.
Read more about Controversies About The Word "niggardly": Word Origins, David Howard Incident, University of Wisconsin Incident, Wilmington, North Carolina Incident, Mendocino County, CA Incident, Publicity and Racial Use
Famous quotes containing the words word and/or niggardly:
“Men talk glibly enough about moonshine, as if they knew its qualities very well, and despised them; as owls might talk of sunshine,—none of your sunshine!—but this word commonly means merely something which they do not understand,—which they are abed and asleep to, however much it may be worth their while to be up and awake to it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Art can never match the luxury and superfluity of Nature. In the former all is seen; it cannot afford concealed wealth, and is niggardly in comparison; but Nature, even when she is scant and thin outwardly, satisfies us still by the assurance of a certain generosity at the roots.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)