詞源不詳，可能來自挪威方言nigla,忙於瑣事的，詞源同niggle,-ard,人，含貶義。可能與nugatory有詞源聯係。俗詞源認為該詞來自nigger,但被多數詞源學家否定。
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. [Christopher Hitchens, "The Pernicious Effects of Banning Words," Slate.com, Dec. 4, 2006]As an adverb from 1520s. Related: Niggardliness.