What does niggardly mean?

It means stingy or miserly, or inappropriately small or scanty (e.g. "a niggardly tip for a waiter"). It comes from the noun "niggard," which is not at all related to the racial slur it sounds like. The Word actually comes from Old Norse (Scandinavian) hnygghard meaning "stingy." Because it sounds like the racial slur, the Words "niggard" and "niggardly" are often avoided nowadays because people ignorant of the etymology misconstrue these Words as slurs as well. However, they are not racial slurs, although "niggardly" and "niggard" are not complimentary in meaning.