scrimp

Meanings

1. A pinching miser; a niggard.

1. To make too small or short; to shortchange.
2. To limit or straiten; to put on short allowance.
3. To be frugal, whether to a reasonable and wise extent or to a miserly and unwise extent.

1. Short; scanty; curtailed.

Etymology

From Scots scrimp (“meager”), from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German schrimpen (“to shrivel up, wrinkle”), from Old Dutch *scrimpan, from Frankish *skrimpan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skrimpaną (“to shrink”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off”), related to Old English sċrimman (“to shrink”) and sċrincan (“to shrivel up”). Doublet of shrink, shrimp, and shrim.