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Comment by oldmanjay | Hacker News Reader

That's the same strange attitude that got a man fired from DC gov't for using the word "niggardly."

If your sensitivity is such that you can't handle similarities in word sounds I recommend you lock yourself indoors cause it's a tough world out there.

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To be perfectly clear, I did a double-take because I mis-read it the first time, I'm probably not alone on this, and I'd consider it an ill-advised name.

You could consider me oversensitive, but would you choose Niggardly for a brand name?

Niggard Systems: a company devoted to conserving capital resources through a proactive approach towards analytics and trends in money markets.

I understand you may disagree with them, but there's no need for an ad-hominem attack. I like to believe our community is above that, even as a lurker. Instead, why do you disagree with the assertion that its an unfortunate name?

(It appears @comex gave a pretty convincing argument for why it is at this level in the thread, and I know I read the name wrong at first!)

quick edit: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rapere isn't looking too good, either.

I don't know where this name came from, but it made me think of Latin rapere, "to snatch/grab/carry off", which is the etymological source of "rape" and, while a common word, was also used for somewhat related purposes in Roman times (namely, kidnapping women). This is unlike niggardly, which is etymologically unrelated to nigger. However, rapere is also the source for innocuous English terms like rapt and rapture.

The word "rape" didn't even remotely cross my mind until you mentioned it here. The name actually reminded me of a rapier, a kind of weapon.

"rapier" is what I thought, as well; the rapier is a light thrusting sword, which is intended to deliver a quick wounding strike to the target. Seemed perfectly on-point for this drone.

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