niello 
3. The dark compound used for such inlays iii 
silver, made up of different iilloys of sulphur, 
silver, copper, etc. 
The kneeling and tamlinn Kuures engraved on the 
lower iwnults whime outline* wt-rr tllli-il will] nitiln IIMIK 
since removed, are absoliitrly I'.yzantine In style. 
C. C. Per/tin*, Italian Sculpture, Int., p. xll. 
4. Inlaid work of tlie kind defined above. 
Others not only so engraved, but wrought as well with 
nirtli or designs cut Into silver and tilled in with a Mark 
mctallir preparation. Hock, Church of our Fathers, 1. 258. 
Niello-work, the art of decorating by means of niello; 
tilling engraved patterns so as to produce a surface alter- 
nating Mack with the color of the metallic ground, 
niello (ni-el'6), v. t. [Also iiiel ; < iiii-llii, .] To 
decorate by means of niello-work; treat with 
niello or by the niello process. 
The nielloed plate was very highly polished. 
Knryc. BHt., XVII. 494. 
niellure (ni-el'ur), . [< P. niellurt, < niel, niel- 
lo: see niello aiid are.'] The process of deco- 
rating with niello; also, the work HO done. 
Faience a niellure, decorated pottery in which the or- 
nuinents are Incised or stamped, the spaces being after- 
ward filled in with clay of a different color, producing a 
kind of mosaic. 
niepa-bark, . [< E. Ind. Hiepa + E. bartf*.] 
The bark of a bitter East Indian tree, Samadtra 
fndica, with properties allied to those of quas- 
sia; samadera- or niota-bark. 
Nierembergia (ni'e-rem-ber'ji-ft), . [NL. 
(Uuiz and Pa von, 1/94), named after J. E. Nie- 
n-mhcrg (1590-1663), a Jesuit and professor of 
" natural history at Madrid.] A genus of creeping 
or spreading nerbs of the order Solanacece and 
the tribe Salpiglossidca; known by its five exsert- 
ed stamens attached to the apex of the slender 
corolla-tube. There are about 20 species, from South 
America to Texas. They have smooth undivided leaves and 
solitary pedicels bearing pale-violet or whitish flowers, 
often with an ornamental border. Various species are In 
garden cultivation, sometimes called mp-flmcer. Among 
them are If. gradlio and ff. rivularix, the latter having 
white flowers with yellow center, used In the decoration of 
graves. 
Niersteiner (ner'stl-ner), n. [< Xicrntein (see 
def. ) + -er 1 .] A kind of Rhine wine named from 
Nierstein, near Mainz. 
nieve (nev), n. See neaf. 
nift, conj. [ME., abbr. and coutr. from an if: 
see 2 and if.] An if ; unless. 
Gret perile bi-twene hem stod, 
tfif mare of hlr knyjt myime. 
Sir (Jawatfne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 176S). 
niff (nif ), i'. i. [Cf. miff.'] To quarrel ; be of- 
fended. Hallitcelt. [Prov. Eng.] 
niffer (nif'er), v. t. [Said to be < neaf, nieve, 
neive, the fist: see neaf.~\ To exchange or bar- 
ter. [Scotch.] 
So they agreed on the subject, and he was niffered away 
for the pony. 
KMoH-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 351. 
niflfer (nif'er), n. [< niffer, .] An exchange; 
a barter. [Scotch.] 
Ve see your state wl* theirs compar'd, 
An shudder at the niffer. 
Burnt, Address to the Uuco Guld. 
niffle 1 (nif'l), v. i.; pret. and pp. niffled, ppr. 
niffliug. [Formerly also nivel; < ME. *nfflcn. 
nivrlen, < OF. nijter, sniffle, snivel ; perhaps < 
LG. niif, nose, snout: see ji<>6.] To sniffle; 
snivel; whine. 
niffle' 2 (nif'l), r. t. ; pret. and pp. niffled, ppr. 
nijtliiiy. [Origin obscure ; cf. nifle.'] 1. To steal; 
pilfer. [Prov. Eng.] 2. To eat hastily. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
niffnaff (nif'naf), . [Cf. nijle.] A. trifle; a 
knickknack. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
niffnaffy (nif'naf-i), a. and . [< niffnaff + 
-y 1 -] I. a. Fastidious; dainty; troublesome 
about trifles. 
She departed, grumbling between her teeth that " she 
wad rather lock up a haill ward than be liking about thae 
nffl'-niifii gentles that gae sae innckle fash wi' their fan- 
cies." Scott, Uuy Mannering, xliv. (Jamiemn.) 
II. .', v\.niffiuiffifs(-\z). A trifling fellow. 
[Prov. Eng. or Scotch in both uses.] 
niflet, n. [ME., also nyfle; < OF. nijle, trifle.] 
1. A trifle; a thing or a matter of no value. 
He served hem with nyjles and with fables. 
Chaucer, Siuuinoner's Tale, 1. 52. 
Trash, rags, m'*, trifles. c,.t : irnr. . 
2. A part of women's dress, probably a veil, 
worn in the latter part of the fifteenth century. 
Niflheim (nifl'hlm), n. [Icel., < iii.tl. mist (= 
L. nebula, cloud, mist: see iiebiile), + lieini = E. 
home.'] In tifand. ini/th., a region of mist and 
fog, ruled over by Hel. 
niningt(iiit"ling),'rt. [< niflf + -inff 2 .] Trifling; 
insignificant. 
an 
MM 
For a poor ni/Uiuj toy, that a worse tluui nothing. 
Lady Alinvmy, E S b. (Sarc*. > 
niftt, n. [ME., also nifte, < AS. uifl. u ni< : 
see nif re.] A niece. 
nifty (nif'ti), a. [Origin obscure.] Good in 
styleand appearance; unto the mark. [Slang.] 
nig't (nig), a. and n. [ME. niij (rare), < Icel. 
lniiii/(/r = Sw. njiiiin = AS. l/m-iiir, stingy, nig- 
gardly, scanty. Hence iiitijiurd, nigginh, nii/- 
i/l<-, ntii'iii. I'ir.J I. n. Sliiigy; niggardly. 
[Hare.] 
.Vi'r/ and hard In al [h]is live. Quoted In XTnttwaiiri. 
II. n. A stingy person; a niggard. 
Borne of them been hard tivjijes, 
And some of hem been proude and gale. 
Pltnrman'i Tale, L 714. 
nigif 0"ig), '- i. [< ig l , ] To be stingy; be 
niggardly. 
Is it not better to healpe the mother and mUtress of thy 
country with thy goods and body than by withholding 
thy liandu. an 'o make her not liable to kepe out 
nigger 
[ (nig'ttrd), r. [< ;//</;/"'''' "] I. ' 
I'n stint ; supply sparingly. [Rare.] 
The deep of night Is crept upon our talk. 
And nature must obey necessity; 
WW, h we will i,i : i ; /<inl with a little rest. 
Shat.,J. I'., Iv. 
thine jennemy? 
Aylmer (156V (Dane*.) 
nig'- 3 (nig), n. [Perhaps a var. of m'cfr 1 .] A 
small piece ; a chip. [Prov. Eng.] 
nig- (nig), v. t. ; pret. and pp. nigged, ppr. nia- 
ging. [< nig 2 , n. ; cf. niggle. Henoe nidge.'] I. 
To clip (money). 2. "Same as nidge. 
nig 11 (nig), H. An abbreviation of niggtr-. 
[Slang.J 
The Held hands will be too much for her, I reckon ; some 
of the little niiji have no clothes at all. 
Harper-i Mag., LXXVIII. 248. 
nigardt, nigardiet, Obsolete forms of nig- 
gard, niggardu. 
Nigella (ni-jel'il), H. [NL. (Toumefort, 1700), 
fern, of L. nigelfus, dark, blackish, dim. of nigrr, 
black: see nigrescent. Cf. niello.] A genus of 
ornamental plants of the polypetalous order 
Rannnculacfce, the tribe Helleborcee, and the 
subtribe fsopyrete, known by the united carpels 
forming a com- 
pound ovary. 
There are about 23 
species, natives of 
the Mediterranean 
region and west- 
ern Asia. They 
are erect annuals, 
with alternate 
feathery dissected 
leaves, and whit- 
ish, blue, or yel- 
lowish flowers. 
The species are 
called fenttel-junc- 
er, especially the 
common A*. Da- 
wascena and -V. 
Mtira. Both aro 
garden-plants, the 
former vividly af- 
fecting the imagi- 
nation, as appears 
from the names 
bithop'n-tcort, dev- 
U-in-a-tnuh, love- 
SS! "ForX "-.* -**-/. 
latter, see fennd- 
Jtfurer, caratray, 2, <rith, nutmeg -tUn<xr, and black cumin 
(under cumin). Nigella-seed, the seed of N. natim. 
nigeott, . See nidget. 
nigert, An obsolete spelling of nigger'*. 
nigernesst, n. [< L. niger, black, + -ness.] 
Blackness. 
Their nigeriuiae and coleblack hue. 
Golding, tr. of Ovid'i Metamorph., vli. (Encyc. Diet.) 
Niger oil. A food- and lamp-oil expressed from 
Niger seeds. 
Niger seeds. See Guizotia. 
niggard (nig'ard), i. and a. [Early mod. E. 
nigartl; < ME. nigard, nygard, miser; < nig 1 + 
ftrd.] I. n. 1. A stingy or close-fisted person ; 
a parsimonious or avaricious person ; one who 
stints, or supplies sparingly ; a miser. 
He is to greet a nygard that wolde weme 
A man to lightc his candle at his lanterne. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 333. 
But these couetous niyarde* passe on with pain alway 
y time present, A alway spare al for their time to come. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 88. 
If Fortune has a Niggard been to thee, 
Devote thy self to Thrift. 
Congrrte, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, xi. 
2. A false bottom in a grate, used for saving 
fuel. Also nigger. 
Niggardf, generally called niggers (I. e. false bottoms 
for grates). 
Mayhfie. London Labour and London Poor, II. 8. 
II. a. Sparing; stinting; parsimonious. 
Niggard of question ; but, of our demands, 
Most free in his reply. Shot., Hamlet, ill. 1. 13. 
Those lands which a niggard nature had apparently con- 
demned to perpetual poverty anil nhsrlirity. 
Motley. Dutch Republic, I. 88. 
II. iiiirniix. Tobepiirsimuni'iiworiiiggardly. 
Within thine own bud burlest thy content. 
And, tender churl, makest waste In ninjyardiny. 
Shot., HonneU, L 
niggardiset, ". [Also ii/<// <'':<, nignrduie; < 
nii/i/tii-il + -<'. -*'.] Niggardliness; parsimony. 
-Inn vp and starued amidst those Treasure* whereof 
he had store, which aiggardue forbade him to disburse In 
his owne defence. Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 74. 
Twere pity thou by niyyanlie shouldst thrive 
Whose wealth by waxing craveth to be spent. 
Drayton, Legend of Matilda. 
niggardliness (nig'ftrd-li-nes), u. The quality 
ul being niggardly or stingy; sordid parsimony, 
niggardly (nig'Hrd-li), a. ' [Early mod. E. /- 
tirdly; < niggard. + -ly 1 .] 1. Like a niggard; 
sordidly parsimonious or sparing; eloM-aitod; 
stingy: as, a niggardly person. 
Where the owner of the house will be bountiful. It i- 
uot for the steward to be niggardly. Bp. Hall. 
She Invited us all to dine with her there, which we 
agreed to, only to vex him, he being the most nigyardlii 
fellow, It seems. In the world. ft>i. Diary, II. 396. 
2. Characteristic of a niggard; meanly parsi- 
monious; scanty: as, niggardly entertainment ; 
niggardly thrift. 
A living, ... of about four hundred pounds yearly 
value, was to be resigned to hlx son ; ... no niggardly 
assignment to one of ten children. 
Jane Auntrn, Xorthanger Abbey, xvl. 
=8yn. Pariimoniout, Stingy, etc.(tee pemirinui), Illiberal, 
close-fisted, saving, chary. 
niggardly (nig'ard-li), adi: [Early mod. E. 
nigardly,nygerdly; < niggardly, .] Intheman- 
ner of a niggard ; sparingly; parsimoniously. 
We gave money to the Frier-servants, and that not niii 
ijardli/, considering our light purses and long journey. 
Sandtjt, Travalles, p. 15. 
niggardness (nig'iird-ues), . Niggardliness. 
All preparations, both for food and lodging, such ax 
would make one detest niggardnens. It Is 80 sluttish a rice. 
Sir P. Sidney. 
To hinder the niggardjiess of surviving relatives from 
cheating the dead out of the Church's services. 
Rock, Church of our Fathers, il. ::,. 
niggardoust (nig'ftr-dus), a. [< niggard + -oux.] 
Niggardly; parsimonious. 
This couetous gathering and mt/arjouit keping. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 14. 
niggardshipt (nig'ard-ship), . [< niggard + 
-ship.] Niggardliness; stinginess. 
Surely like as the excesse of fare is to be iustly reproued, 
so In a noble man moch pluchyng and nyyarnthypul meate 
and drynke is to be discommended. 
Sir T. Elynt, The Governour, III. 21 . 
niggardyt (nig'ar-di), H. [< ME. Higardie, nigar- 
<lye ; < niggard 4- -y 3 .] 1. Niggardliness. 
Ylt me greveth moat his niyariiye. 
Chaticer, Shipman's Tale, 1. 172. 
2. Niggardly or miserly persons. 
The neyardye In kepynge hjT rychesse 
Pronostlk is thow wilt hire toure asayle. 
Chaucer, Fortune, 1. 5S. 
nigger 1 (nig'er), . [< Mi's 2 + - frl - ct '- equiv. 
niggard, n., 2.] Same as niggard, 2. 
nigger 2 (nig'er), n. [Formerly niger, neger, 
negar, neager ; = D. G. Sw. Dan. neger = U'uss. 
ne'grii, < F. negre (16th century), now negre, < Sp. 
Pg. It. negro, a black man, a negro: see negro. 
Xtgger is not, as generally supposed, a " cor- 
ruption " of negro, but is regularly developed 
from the earlier form neger, which is derived 
through the F. from the Sp. Pg. negro, from 
which E. negro is taken directly. ] 1 . A black 
man ; a negro. [Kigyer is more English in form than 
ntirro. and was formerly and to some extent still Is used 
without opprobrious intent ; but its use is now confined 
to colloquial or illiterate speech, in which It generally con- 
veys more or less of contempt.) 
In most of those Provinces are many rich mines, but 
the ffegart opposed the Portngalls for working in them. 
Cajjt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 49. 
The chairman owned the niygert did not bleach, 
As he had hoped. 
From being washed and soap'd. 
Hood, A Black Job. 
When they call each other nigger, the familiar term of 
opprobrium is applied with all the malice of a sting. 
The Atlantic, XVIII. TO. 
2. A native of the East Indies or one of the 
Australian aborigines. [Colloq.] 
The political creed of the frequenters of dawk bunga- 
lows is . . . that when you hit a iii^^rr he dies on purpose 
to spite 700. Trrrffyan, The Dawk Bungalow, p. 225 
One hears the contemptuous term nigyer still applied to 
natives [of India) by those who should know better, e- 
