Near the middle (4)
I believe the answer is:
mean
I believe this is a double definition.
'near' is the first definition.
(both can mean miserly)
'the middle' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for mean that I've seen before include "Nasty" , "Tight - average" , "Stingy in average way" , "Name for being stingy" , "The average could be miserly" .)