stingy English · revision 1255

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈstɪnd͡ʒi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is of uncertain origin,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) perhaps a dialect variant of ''stingy'' “stinging, sharp”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[sting]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) with altered pronunciation and meaning.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Niggardly, mean, close-fisted (1659).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The older ''stingy'' “stinging, sharp” (about 1615) was used of criticism and of biting weather,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and dialect ''stingy'' also meant “bad-tempered”.^(OED 1989) From 1849 the newer word described things doled out grudgingly,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and from 1854 a scanty amount.^(OED 1989) ''Stinge'' “a stingy person” is a 20th-century back-formation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1615 – stinging, sharp.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1659 – niggardly.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1849 – doled out grudgingly.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1854 – scanty.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1905 – ''stinge'', a stingy person.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Unwilling to give or spend; not generous; [[mean]] or [[miserly]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Meagre or scanty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stingily]]

+ * [[stinginess]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[niggardly]]

+ * [[parsimonious]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary calls ''stingy'' the most general of a group of words meaning reluctant to spend or part with possessions, implying a lack of generosity and often meanness of spirit.^(AHD) In that group, ''close'' adds caution, ''niggardly'' pettiness, and ''miserly'' a greedy hoarding of wealth for its own sake.^(AHD) Random House adds that ''parsimonious'' suggests excessive frugality and ''mean'' a small-minded stinginess.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}