Hum, I don’t know the word “Niggardly” specifically but the word “Nigga” is another perfect example of a harmless word gone wrong.
The original meaning was; Unknowledged, stupid, etc.... It was ( obviously ) applied to the black slaves imported to the USA. Because they have zero understanding of what they never had seen before. There is also a country in Africa that has a similar, wrongly pronuned in English, that looks like nigga. This worsened the situation.
Properly used, non racist, there’s nothing wrong with the word. But as time has marched on, it is just best not to use it at all no matter the company around you. I try to keep all that crappy jazz out of my life.