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Monday, February 27, 2012

Theater / Language Etymology of the Day: Niggardly

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 10:52 AM

Its origins are murky, but probably from Old Norse:

mid-14c., nygart, of uncertain origin. The suffix suggests French origin (cf. -ard), but the root word is probably related to O.N. hnøggr "stingy," from P.Gmc. *khnauwjaz (cf. Swed. njugg "close, careful," Ger. genau "precise, exact"), and to O.E. hneaw "stingy, niggardly," which did not survive in Middle English.

As a theater critic, I regularly see old plays where "niggardly" is spoken innocently enough—but its first two syllables always snag my ear like a fishhook. As Christopher Hitchens wrote in his 2006 article "The Pernicious Effect of Banning Words":

It was while giving a speech in Washington, to a very international audience, about the British theft of the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon. I described the attitude of the current British authorities as "niggardly." Nobody said anything, but I privately resolved—having felt the word hanging in the air a bit—to say "parsimonious" from then on. That's up to me, though... Hatred will always find a way, and will certainly always be able to outpace linguistic correctness.

In 1999, an aide to D.C. mayor Anthony Williams had to resign for using "niggardly" in a conversation about the city budget, which seems absurd. Using "niggardly" these days might be ill-advised—it's technically innocent, but it does snag the ear and distracts from clear communication, which is the whole point of careful word choice—but it shouldn't be a firing offense.

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Try this.

Go into a convenience store in Rainier Beach, and criticize the pricing of a can of Pringles using the term.

See how far you get to the exit after explaining its derivation to the customers.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on February 27, 2012 at 11:04 AM

There was an assembly called in my high school right after the 1999 niggardly incident, warning us to be careful about our choice of words... school is in Seattle, and I'm sure only a small handful of students had read that article in the paper.

principal didn't even even say what word he was warning us about... the whole thing was a complete farce.

Posted by TheVripper on February 27, 2012 at 11:05 AM

@1 You realize the implication of this line of thought is startlingly racist.

Firstly in using coy dog whistles, like minority neighborhood locations, to refer to black people.

And second implying that somehow all black people will completely lose hold of their senses and reflexively resort to physical violence when baited with a mere word.

Posted by tkc on February 27, 2012 at 11:11 AM

Etymonline.com keeps telling me to tell you that you are making unauthorized use of their site and you should contact them to work something out when I click your links.

Posted by Griffin on February 27, 2012 at 11:13 AM

the DC mayor's aide should have held on & refused to quit over such an absurdity. as usual for democrats, their first instinct is to fold - see ACORN.

Posted by Max Solomon on February 27, 2012 at 11:17 AM

Charles would have gazed at his navel for longer.

Posted by More About his thought pieces than his lineage on February 27, 2012 at 11:19 AM

Sure, and we shouldn't use the term "global warming" because it offends many Christians who believe it's impossible for humans to affect God's climate. In general, we must defer to ignorance.

Posted by rttm on February 27, 2012 at 11:22 AM

I knew of the DC controversy, but now that I've read a report about it, I'm not sure it was even about the use of "niggardly"; it's what set things in motion, but from what I understand, this was a white guy working in a racially charged environment in which there was a question among African American citizens about the appointment of so many whites in the mayor's administration. The reason he got in hot water was because of the false rumor that he had actually used the N-word, and with the community expecting the worst from him, his appointment was doomed.

Race certainly played a role here, but basically, people seem to have been waiting for something to confirm their suspicions of him--he could have been photographed at a summer picnic where there was a watermelon in the background and he'd have been accused of racism.

Posted by seatackled on February 27, 2012 at 11:28 AM

Go into a convenience store in Rainier Beach, and criticize the pricing of a can of Pringles using the term."

Try this, go into a restaurant in Wallingford and yell 'there's too many crackers in here' when your soup comes out.

Posted by Crackers be whackers on February 27, 2012 at 11:42 AM

@9: Well played, sir.

Posted by venomlash on February 27, 2012 at 11:49 AM

Apparently the main reason we can't use the word "niggardly" is because of the ignorance of blacks.

Posted by Wiggardly Persom on February 27, 2012 at 11:56 AM

If "a certain minority group" is so ignorant of the English language that they can't differentiate between the word niggardly and the N word then too bad for them!

Bastard is another perfectly legitimate word that most people with illegitimate children balk at too- methinks that is the next one to be banned.

Now let's talk about the word "renege"...

Posted by You Look Like I Need A Drink! on February 27, 2012 at 12:40 PM

Folks who use the word "scatological" should look up its etymology sometime...and people don't bat an eye when they hear it.

Posted by bobbelieu on February 27, 2012 at 1:40 PM

@13 when does scatological ever get used out of proper context?

Posted by Beetlecat on February 27, 2012 at 2:47 PM

That 'fishhook' feeling you're referring to reminds me of a great footnote I read from Judith Jarvis Thomson, "...prose should be transparent, like a pane of glass through which one sees the thoughts behind it." When we hear words that have that affect, it is a smudge on that pane. Obviously if it has already been written we wouldn't want to scrub it from its original text, but I think there's standing reason to avoid using it in the future.

Posted by the duster on February 27, 2012 at 3:05 PM

@12: "Bastard is another perfectly legitimate word"
>bastard
>legitimate
I see what you did there.

Posted by venomlash on February 27, 2012 at 3:08 PM

I once got fired when my boss overheard me telling a coworker I was a member of a local chicken raising co-op. Having fresh eggs was always nice, but in retrospect, calling our group the Cool Clucks Clan was probably ill-advised.

Posted by Zebes

on February 27, 2012 at 3:25 PM

la negra tiene tumbao
la mulata me vuelve loco
en cuba hay muchas frutas...yo prefiero el coco
la morena
el gordo y el flaco

Elefante mato a Tiburon

Posted by spanish - less p.c. on February 27, 2012 at 6:37 PM

Remember when people got all upset because they believed the urban legend that "picnic" was originally a term for lynching?

Posted by Greg on February 27, 2012 at 9:58 PM

@1 Or, the clerk and store patrons will continue about their business because they already know they etymology of the word. You actually made quite a racist assumption there, way to go.

Posted by A Magnolia Heron on February 28, 2012 at 5:21 AM

@20 You assume much too...
When my mother tried to teach her good (black) friend of 10 years how to play Pinochle, the lady flipped out/went all Rottweiler when she heard the word renege...
Ignorance is everywhere.

Posted by You Look Like I Need A Drink! on February 28, 2012 at 12:34 PM