Etymology
The identification of <nekard> (D MS <neker>) at
WA 1742 ('And slike a nekard as þi selfe, a noʒt of all othire') is contested. Skeat WA and
MED identify it with ME
nigard 'stingy person, miser', assuming an otherwise unattested sense 'contemptible person, weakling'. Scandinavian words provide the best comparanda for
nigard (formed within English on
nig) although no direct ON etymon has been preserved. Compare the rare OIcel
hnøggr 'stingy' and the nickname
hnøggvan(d)baugi 'ring miser'. The root < PGmc
*xnaww- (cp. OE
hnēaw (adj.) 'nigardly, miserly, stingy', WFris
nau 'narrow', MLG
nouwe 'narrow', MDu
nauwe 'tight, precise', MHG
ge-nou 'careful, thorough') exhibits Verschärfung. As TPD (1866n) point out, however, in the context of the line 'all that can be said with confidence is that the word is a term of belittlement'. The D MS variant and the unusual sense both cast some doubt on the proposed connection with the ON adj., although it is the only plausible suggestion which has been offered to explain this word.
OED3 expresses this uncertainty by giving a separate entry for
nekard, noting only as a possibility that it is a variant of
niggard.
PGmc Ancestor
?*xnaww-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
cp. hnøggr (adj.)
(ONP hnøggr (2) (adj.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far nøggur, Icel hnøggur, Norw nøgg, Dan nygger, Sw njugg, Sw dial nagg, nägg
OE Cognate
cp. hnēaw (adj.) 'nigardly, miserly, stingy; (sb.) miser'
Phonological and morphological markers
[Sharpening of ON /ggw/ < PGmc */ww/]
(may not be applicable)
Summary category
DD2