neatn.1
/niːt/, U.S. /nit/ Now archaic and regional.
1. A bovine animal; an ox or bullock; a cow or heifer. Also figurative.Now rare except in compounds denoting items or products made from the skin, etc., of a neat: see neatfoot oil n., neatfoot oil n. at Compounds 1b; neat's foot n., neat's leather n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun]
neateOE
oxeOE
rother beast1375
nolt1437
beef1583
beeve1847
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxxii. 18 (23) Ut iumentum factus sum : swe swe neat geworden ic eam.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xiv. 81 Eac him mon scolde sellan ða breosð ðæs neates toeacan ðæm boge.
OE Soul & Body II (1936) 75 Þær þu wurde æt frumsceafte fugel oþþe fisc on sæ, oððe eorþan neat.
c1175 Libellus de Nominibus Naturalium Rerum in T. Hunt Teaching & Learning Lat. in 13th-cent. Eng. (1991) I. 22 Bos, net, s. aut oxe, i. bof, aut cu, i. vace que tamen latine vacca dicitur.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1026 (MED) Þe ston was mikel and ek greth And al so heui so a neth.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 940 A net and a got and a sep.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. 261 Iohan most gentil..þe prys nete of Piers plow.
c1450 (a1375) Octavian (Calig.) (1979) 927 (MED) Ech day he wold ete a neet And messys more.
?c1450 in Anglia (1896) 18 320 (MED) In an hows be xl neet And alle ȝeuyn mylk.
1557 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandrie sig. B.iiii [He] may well kill a neate, and a shepe of his owne.
1669 J. Worlidge Dictionarium Rusticum in Systema Agriculturæ 273 Neate, a Heifer, or any of the kind of Beeves.
1746 T. Salmon Present State Afr. III. 109 On the south-side of the river (Gambia) the first Kingdom we meet is that of Cumbo..affecting plenty of neats, cattle, goats and fowls.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 351 Neat, an animal—or individual—of the ox-kind.
1895 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) II. 318 A savage Bull.., he was a gallant-looking neat.
1922 T. Hardy Late Lyrics & Earlier 133 The mead is possessed of the neats, That range not greatly above The rich rank thicket which brushes their teats.
2. With plural agreement. Cattle collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > oxen or cattle
rothereOE
neateOE
orfOE
erf1154
nowtsc1175
field beasta1382
nolt1437
cattle1555
neat cattle1619
chattel1627
beefc1706
horned cattle1781
cows1869
bullamacow1887
beeves-
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xxxv. 7 Homines et iumenta saluos facies domine : men & neat hale ðu does dryhten.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1131 Wæs swa micel orfcwalm swa hit næfre ær ne wæs.., þæt wæs on næt and on swin.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 369 Children & hinen..ure nete sculen ȝemen.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 700 (MED) Grim solde sone al his corn, Shep wit wolle, neth wit horn.
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 172 (MED) Prestis also..bien schep and neet.
1461 Paston Lett. (1904) II. 254 He..toke there xxxvj heede of nete.
1534 Prymer in Eng. sig. L.vj As flockes of shepe, all herdes of neate.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 46v Be suer thy neate, haue water and meate.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 127 The Steere, the Heyefer [printed Heycfer], and the Calfe, Are all call'd Neat . View more context for this quotation
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 329 Their Neat, though small are sleek and well-liking.
1737 H. Baker tr. Virgil Georgics in Medulla Poetarum Romanorum II. 523 The Cattle die: The Neat, of bulky Size, With Frost surrounded stand.
1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason i. 9 The herdsmen drave Full oft to Cheiron woolly sheep, and neat.
1913 J. Masefield in Eng. Rev. 13 541 There were neat, Red herds of sullen cattle drifting slow.
1923 C. M. Doughty Mansoul (rev. ed.) v. 158 We herded in the field, till evensong. When driven the neat home lowing to their stalls.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive with the sense ‘of, for, or belonging to a neat or neats’.† neat bladder n. Obsolete rare† neat driver n. Obsolete rare† neat dung n. Obsolete rare† neat flesh n. Obsolete rare† neat pasture n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 28 (MED) Do þe toþer ende of þe pipe with-in a net bleddir.
ΚΠ
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 354 Neet dryvare, Armentarius.
ΚΠ
1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 64 Temperately enrich'd Water, (such as is impregnated with Neat and Sheeps-dung).
ΚΠ
c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 50 (MED) Tak alde nete flesche.
neat-hide n.
ΚΠ
c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 43 (MED) Ordayne vs..jm. nete-hydes barked..þat we..may gere make vs of þam clethyng, & schoees.
1841 R. E. Landor Earl of Brecon ii. ii. 22 Neat-hides and Venice velvet scour each other.
1977 J. Packer Dark Curtain 55 Straw-stuffed cushions with hand-woven covers hid the neat hide thongs of the wooden chairs.
neat-leather n.
ΚΠ
1606 Edinb. Test. XLI. f. 190v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Fyve hydis of neat ledder at xij li. the pece.
1776 in New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. Coll. (1889) IX. 263 Mens Neat Leather Shoes of the best common sort.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 265/1 These young women they hang back and pull against you, and then..start off full gallop, and neat-leather reins won't hold them.
ΚΠ
c1425 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Ld. Middleton (1911) 106 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 5567) XXVII. 1 (MED) For neȝth pastur we orden Orrow..for to be broken on Crowchemesseday.
neat-stall n.
ΚΠ
1889 Harper's Mag. Sept. 560/1 Here were found the hundreds of neat stalls for the different kinds of stock.
1894 J. C. Atkinson Memorials Old Whitby 21 The unromantic homeliness of the neat-stalls.
b.
neatfoot oil n. (also neatfeet oil) now rare = neat's-foot oil n. at neat's foot n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > extracted or refined oil > [noun] > animal oil > from feet of cattle
neatfoot oil1597
neat's-foot oil1639
1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 445 iii. spoonefull of Neate-foote oyle.
1696 in A. W. C. Hallen Acct. Bk. Foulis (1894) 191 For a pynt of neetfeet oyl for ye harniss 1, 4, 0.
1988 U.S. Patent 4,762,522 9 Aug. Representative of compatible oils, fats and waxes are fish, vegetable, animal and mineral oils,..petrolatum, neatfoot oil..and animal fats.
C2. Appositive.† neat-beef n. Obsolete
neat beast n.
ΚΠ
1624 in Essex Inst. Historical Coll. (1914) L. 235 All my Cattell nowe upon the farme..as neat bests, horse bests, and swine.
1727 Rec. Smithtown, N.Y. (1898) 82 It is agreed on that the pounder shall have for pounding a horse four pence, for a net best four pence.
1875 Harper's Mag. June 63/1 Allowing eight sheep to be equal to one neat beast, and two neat beasts to one horse.
ΚΠ
1755 in S. M. Hamilton Lett. to Washington (1898) I. 135 Not under twelve shillings and sixpence per Hundred Neet Beef.
neat cattle n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [noun] > oxen or cattle
rothereOE
neateOE
orfOE
erf1154
nowtsc1175
field beasta1382
nolt1437
cattle1555
neat cattle1619
chattel1627
beefc1706
horned cattle1781
cows1869
bullamacow1887
beeves-
1619 Jrnl. House of Burgesses, Gen. Assembly Virginia (1915) 13 No man without leave from the Governour shall kill any Neat cattle whatsoever.
1753 Scots Mag. Nov. 540/2 Drawn by oxen or neat cattle.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 378 Sheep, horses, and even every kind of neat cattle.
1982 Shakespeare Q. 33 102/2 The famous short-horn Devon cow,..the aristocracy of neat-cattle.
neat stock n.
ΚΠ
1848 Amer. Whig Rev. Dec. 641 They frequently rode over to each other's houses, and talked over..the prices of neat stock, wood, hay and grain.
1902 Publ. Amer. Econ. Assoc. 3 95 Exempting live stock, horses, asses, mules, oxen, cows, and other neat stock from taxation under three years.
C3. Compounds with neat's. Cf. also neat's foot n., neat's leather n., neat's tongue n.† neat's bladder n. Obsolete rare† neat's flesh n. Obsolete rare† neat's milk n. Obsolete rare† neat's pasture n. Obsolete† neat's stall n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 75 (MED) Haue he a swynez bledder, or a netez bledder, noȝt blowne to myche.
neat's dung n.
ΚΠ
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 216 Use Peats, Turffe, Heath, Furse, Broome, and such like fuel for firing..yea, and Neats dung, as in some places of Wiltshire.
1704 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husb. II. 167 Set it in rich mould, with neats dung and lime.
1855 G. Emerson Farmer's & Planter's Encycl. Rural Affairs (new ed.) 111 If the earth is not naturally moist, there should be plenty of loam and rotten neat's dung laid about its roots.
ΚΠ
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 781 (MED) Netes flesh, shepes, and swines.
neat's hide n.
ΚΠ
1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 192 For every bolokys hyde, and netys hyde, and oxhe hyde, ijs. vijd.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. III. x. 79 Wherefore the man them hid, under neats' hides, And fleeces, there, two days.
2002 www.brainerddispatch.com 7 Jan. (O.E.D. Archive) The space within the frame [of snowshoes] was filled with a close webbing of dressed caribou or neat's-hide strips.
ΚΠ
?c1450 in Anglia (1896) 18 320 (MED) Take netys mylk also.
ΚΠ
1413 Inquisition Misc. (P.R.O.: C 145/292/16) Pastura pro vna boue anglice oon Netispastur.
1504–5 in M. Bateson Rec. Borough Leicester (1901) II. 365 II netes pastorres with VII rodes lands to Jhon Strettun for ye terme of LXI [yeres].
neat's skin n.
ΚΠ
?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 96 (MED) Take þe fleschynge þat men schawyn..of netis-skynnis.
1767 W. Dodd Poems 226 A pair of shoes, New. neat's-skin and well-nail'd.
1889 I. S. Davis Story of Church His clothing was a pair of leather breeches, a flannel jacket, a rusty felt hat, shoes of neat's skin, and a leather apron.
ΚΠ
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 41 Netystalle [v.ther. netis stall], Boscar [read Bostar], bucetum, presepe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
neatadj.n.2int.adv.
/niːt/, U.S. /nit/ A. adj. (n.2 and int.)
I. Senses relating to elegance, smartness, etc.
1.
a. Of a thing, a place, etc.: characterized by an elegance of form or arrangement, with freedom from unnecessary additions or embellishments; of agreeable but simple appearance; finely made or proportioned; well-formed. Also as n. Now frequently coinciding with sense A. 4b.In early use the handsomeness of the thing appears to be the more prominent idea; later the notions of simple elegance or regularity of form predominate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > simplicity > [adjective]
plainc1330
simplea1382
neat1453
natural1553
austere1581
bare1583
unintricated1649
severe1665
clever1674
light1740
ungaudy1795
unassuminga1807
inartificial1823
quiet1838
unpretentious1838
unabstract1840
uninvolved1853
penny-plain1854
simplex munditiis1874
unstagy1882
clinical1932
shibui1947
understated1957
1453 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1855) II. 190 (MED) j nete broch of gold.
1549–62 T. Sternhold & J. Hopkins Whole Bk. Psalms cxxii. 3 O thou Jerusalem full faire;..much like a Citie neat.
1580 R. Wilson Three Ladies of London ii Decke vp thy poore Cottage hansomely: And for that purpose I haue fiue thousandes Crownes in store,..But onely see thy roomes be neat.
1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iii. i. sig. B2v Here's a most neate fine streete; is't not? View more context for this quotation
1630 M. Godwin tr. F. Godwin Ann. Eng. i. 113 Hampton Court, the neatest pile of all the King's houses.
1674 in C. R. Lounsbury Illustr. Gloss. Early Southern Archit. & Landscape (1994) 240 A neat Coffin of Black walnutt.
1710 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 43 Mr. Aubrey..writ a neat Hand.
1717 G. Berkeley Jrnls. Trav. Italy 15 Jan. in Wks. (1955) VII. 253 The garden's are neat spacious and kept in good order.
1773 S. Johnson Let. 25 Aug. (1992) II. 57 We lay at Montross, a neat place.
1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Kincardine O'Neil A neat and commodious mansion-house.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 244 An agate style, ground and polished to a smooth neat point.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xv. 137 It was made neater by there really being two halls in the house.
1871 J. R. Lowell Pope in Prose Wks. (1890) IV. 48 It seems to me that Pope had a sense of the neat rather than of the beautiful.
1888 M. E. Braddon Fatal Three I. ii. 24 The furniture was neat.
1951 J. Hawkes Land viii. 187 The neat lettering and regular spelling of the Ordnance Survey maps.
1996 Economist 10 Feb. 110/3 An elegantly-proportioned Georgian house in Bath has become a suitably neat home for a new Museum of East Asian Art.
b. Of a person (esp. a woman), a part of the body, etc.: trim; comely; shapely; finely proportioned.Possibly with more or less implication of sense A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] > neat or trim
netc1330
pertc1330
cleanc1386
nicec1400
picked?c1425
dapperc1440
feata1471
gim1513
trig1513
well-trimmedc1513
trick1533
smirk1534
tricksy1552
neat1559
netty1573
deft1579
primpc1590
briska1593
smug1598
spruce1598
sprink1602
terse1602
compt1632
nitle1673
sprig1675
snod1691
tight1697
smugged1706
snug1714
pensy1718
fitty1746
jemmy1751
sprucy1774
smartc1778
natty1785
spry1806
perjink1808
soigné1821
nutty1823
toiletted1823
taut1829
spick and span1846
spicy1846
groomed1853
spiffy1853
well-groomed1865
bandboxy1870
perjinkity1880
spick-span1888
bandbox1916
tiddly1925
whip-smart1937
spit and polish1950
spit-and-polished1977
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adjective] > neat or trim > specifically of women
neat1559
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates George Plantagenet f. lxxxi Matched with a mayden nete.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Conradus Celtis in Panoplie Epist. 393 When I thinke vpon thy neate proportion.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 454 This your neate bride is one of the Empusæ, called Lamiæ.
1656 R. Fletcher tr. Martial Epigrams v. ii, in Ex Otio Negotium 38 Ye Matrons, Boyes, and Virgins neat, To you my Page I dedicate.
1716 J. Perry State of Russia 6 Her Feete..Are neat and litle to delight the eye.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 184 A neat leg, that had unfortunately slipt its garter.
1848 G. C. Furber Twelve Months Volunteer 196 These women of Matamoras cannot be said to be pretty..but they have fine forms, black, glossy hair, large black eyes, and beautiful teeth; and..are neat and trim.
1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses 19 Just at present she was busy with a spade, and showed an ankle passing neat for her age.
1991 B. Whitehead Dean it was that Died 83 Julia was in her late thirties, with a good, slim, neat figure, a clear skin and dark hair.
c. In proverbial phrase neat (but) not gaudy. Also figurative.Cf. earlier rich not gaudy in Shakespeare Hamlet (1604) i. iii. 71.
ΚΠ
1700 S. Wesley Epist. Poetry 5 Style is the Dress of Thought; a modest Dress, Neat, but not gaudy, will true Critics please.
1806 C. Lamb Let. 26 June in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 232 A little thin flowery border round, neat not gaudy.
1838 J. Ruskin in Archit. Mag. Nov. 484 That admiration of the ‘neat but not gaudy’, which is commonly reported to have influenced the devil when he painted his tail pea-green.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xiii. 116 ‘You seem to like my dressing-gown, sir,’ he said to Mr. Tatham. ‘A pretty thing, isn't it? Neat, but not in the least gaudy.’
1887 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. July 116 I have sent, I say, just such manuscript as editors call for, fair, clean, written on one side, not with a pencil,..the whole thing ‘neat, but not gaudy, as the monkey said’ on the memorable occasion ‘when he painted his tail sky-blue’.
1892 Society 6 Aug. 757/1 Tennyson when in a rage is neat and not gaudy.
1974 L. Deighton Spy Story xxi. 222 If Toliver complains to the Home Secretary you say it was the C.I.A. doing it. Neat, but not gaudy.
1991 J. Cooper Polo 178 Just let me brush your hair back and put on this Alice band. There! Don't you look charming? Neat but not gaudy.
2.
a. Of a person: inclined to refinement or elegance; finely dressed; trim or smart.Originally with the emphasis on fineness of apparel; later suggesting a simple smartness or elegance (passing into sense A. 4a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > elegance > [adjective]
featousc1400
elegantc1475
neat1546
genteel1688
iligant1819
elegantish1830
concinnous1831
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. vii. sig. Iiv Lyke one of fonde fancy so fyne and so neate, That wold haue better bread than is made of wheate.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 45 Be not curious to curlle thy haire, nor carefull to be neate in thine apparell.
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne i. i, in Wks. I. 532 Still to be neat, still to be drest, As, you were going to a feast. View more context for this quotation
1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans (ed. 2) ii. 33 I, like Flowers shall still go neat, As if I knew no moneth but May.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 9 My old Nurse..gave me Head-Dresses, and Linnen, and Gloves, and I went very Neat, for if I had Rags on, I would always be Clean.
1873 A. Trollope Eustace Diamonds II. xliii. 216 The very neat and even dandified appearance of the groom who rode out hunting with them.
1932 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) vi. 54 She looked very different from the others, neat and towny in smart clothes and a black felt hat.
b. Of clothing: handsome, fine; (now) spec. unadornedly smart; trim, elegant.In later use influenced by or passing into sense A. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > fine, elegant, or smart
quaintc1330
nice1395
merryc1400
featc1430
elegant?c1500
mannerly1523
fine1526
neat1566
trim1675
smart1704
dressy1785
natty1794
good1809
dossy1889
dicty1932
whip-smart1937
zooty1943
sharp1944
preppy1963
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall sig. Giiij If in a couche, a fyne fleesde lambe, A kinge shoulde cause to ryde, And geue it rayments neate, and gay..And call it pugges and pretye peate [L. Rufam aut Pusillam appellet].
1622 J. de Luna Pvrsuit Hist. Lazarillo de Tormez xiii. 141 A Gentleman-Vsher with handsome Trouses, a neat Doublet, a good Cloake, and a comely bonnet.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 191 Deckt in neat attire.
1695 W. Kennett Parochial Antiq. Gloss. at Garba A neat or handsome garb.
1774 in Amer. Hist. Rev. (1899) 5 311 She is drest in a neat shell Callico Gown.
1865 Atlantic Monthly 15 166 A mean dress would in many places exclude her from employment,—while a neat one would insure it.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel xxvii, in All Year Round 29 Jan. 338/2 Her neat travelling-gown of darkest olive cashmere, and coquettish little olive-green toque.
1992 D. Lessing Afr. Laughter 310 Her dress, incongruously, was a neat little number smart enough for town.
3. † a. Exhibiting skill and precision in action or expression. Obsolete.† d. Of preparations, esp. in cookery: skilfully or tastefully prepared; choice; elegant. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > skilful or adroit
hendc1275
happya1400
clean1485
habile1485
practivea1500
feat1519
well-handeda1529
handsome1542
trick1542
neat1571
dexterous1622
adroit1652
right-handeda1661
artful1663
nitle1673
ambidextrousa1682
clever1716
jemmy1751
slick1807
sleek1822
cleverish1826
featy1844
two-handed1861
nifty1889
mean1918
organized1926
ept1938
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
truea1250
very1303
strait1340
honesta1400
soothfulc1400
precisec1443
veritable1474
just1490
perfect1523
faithful1529
sincere1555
unmangled1557
truthful?1567
neat1571
oraculous1612
punctual1620
oracular1631
unvamped1639
strict1645
unembroidered1649
ungarbled1721
unexaggerated1770
veracious1777
unfictitious1835
unexaggeratinga1854
uncooked1860
1571 T. Knell Historicall Disc. Life & Death Doctor Story sig. Bi Then he shewd him self in kinde, A Butcher very neat: And with ful many faithful Saints, He slily plaied his feat.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 14 There steps me in a third tricksie, neat, nimble, spruse Artificer.
1612 J. Selden in M. Drayton Poly-olbion iv. Illustr. 68 Your more neat iudgements..rather make it symbolicall then truely proper.
a1625 J. Fletcher Wife for Moneth i. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Gggggg/1 Men.: To be a villaine is no such rude matter. Cam.: No, if he be a neat one.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 241 Apaturius Alabandeus made..a scene with a neat hand, wherein he made images instead of columnes.
1684 tr. H. C. Agrippa Vanity Arts & Sci. (new ed.) liv. 148 In Discourse, the Italians are grave,..the Spaniards neat,..the French quick and ready.
1806 ‘P. Pindar’ Tristia 157 You paint so sweetly Love's alarms; The neat Historian of their charms.
1878 L. Wingfield Lady Grizel II. xi. 283 The Duke's foreign valet was a neat harpsichordist.
b. Of language or speech: well chosen or expressed; brief, clear, and to the point; pithy, epigrammatic.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adjective] > neat
neat1586
smug1607
featy1621
terse1777
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. A2v Aptnes of wordes & sentences respecting that they be neat and choisly piked.
1621 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) II. 277 I have heard extraordinary commendation made of a neat speech by one Pym.
1687 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 539 A very quaint neate discourse of moral Righteousnesse.
1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 165 A neat Answer made to his Paper.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 278 Though the stile be neat, The method clear, the argument exact.
1830 T. B. Macaulay Let. in G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay (1876) I. 196 A clear and neat statement of the points in controversy.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind i. 11 I am not sure that the simpler Hottentot version is not the neater of the two.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xxxii. 138 He had a gift now and then of saying neat things.
1993 Dict. National Biogr.: Missing Persons at Beeton, Isabella Mary The book's style moved easily between detailed instructions and neat aphorisms.
c. Of actions, etc.: involving special skill, accuracy, or precision; cleverly contrived or executed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > skilful or adroit > of actions, speech, etc.
feat1519
cleanlyc1540
neat1598
dexterous1639
clever1692
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H3v The Orbes celestiall Will daunce Kemps Iigge. They'le reuel with neate iumps.
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts v. i. sig. M1 Was it not a rare tricke..to make the deed nothing? I can do twenty neater.
1663 S. Pepys Diary 11 Aug. (1971) IV. 272 We went in and there shewed Mrs. Turner his perspective and volary..which is a most neat thing.
1675 A. Browne Ars Pictoria (ed. 2) App. 10 Rather make choice of a good Free and Bold Following of Nature, then to affect an extreme Neat way.
1706 D. Baker Hist. Job ii. 38 Of thicken'd Air there forms a neat Disguise, Apt to deceive th' unwary Matron's Eyes.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 150 The neatest part of the process consists in the joining of the points of the two rods.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xi. 90 A neater specimen of legislative workmanship.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iv. 30 This was a neat and happy turn to give the subject.
1910 Encycl. Brit. X. 250/2 The new [17th cent.] French sword-play was..very neat,..and..even more deadly than the old fence.
1942 E. Paul Narrow Street i. 7 Three of them..played the neatest game of bridge I have ever encountered.
2000 M. Barrowcliffe Girlfriend 44 xiii. 377 I have a very neat trick of displacing anger with myself on to anger with others.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > savouriness > [adjective]
likingeOE
goodOE
lickerousc1275
deliciousa1325
daintya1382
dainteousc1386
daintiful1393
delicatea1398
merrya1398
savourlyc1400
liciousc1420
savourousa1425
daintethc1430
lustyc1430
feelsomea1450
nuttya1450
seasonablea1475
delicativec1475
unctuous1495
well-tasteda1500
daintive1526
savoury1533
exquisite1561
spicy1562
well-relished?1575
finger-licking1584
toothsome1584
taste-pleasinga1586
daint1590
relishsome1593
lickerish1595
tastesome1598
friand1599
tooth-tempting1603
relishing1605
well-relishing1608
neat1609
hungry1611
palate-pleasing1611
tasteful1611
palatea1617
tastya1617
palatable1619
toothful1622
sipid1623
unsoured1626
famelic1631
tasteablea1641
piquant1645
sapid1646
saporousa1670
slape1671
palativea1682
flavorous1697
nice1709
well-flavoured1717
gusty1721
flavoury1727
fine-palated1735
unrepulsive1787
degustatory1824
zesty1826
peckish1845
mouth-watering1847
flavoursome1853
unreasty1853
unrancida1855
relishy1864
toothy1864
flavoured1867
tasty-looking1867
hungrifying1886
velvety1888
snappy1892
zippy1911
savoursome1922
delish1953
the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > delicate or dainty
estlichc1200
daintya1382
dainteousc1386
daintiful1393
delicatea1398
daintethc1430
delicativec1475
daintive1526
exquisite1561
daint1590
friand1599
neat1609
nice1709
tid1727
1609 T. Heywood Troia Britanica xiv. 369 With all deliscious Cates, costly and neate.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) iv. ii. 50 Arui.: How Angell-like he sings? Gui.: But his neate Cookerie? View more context for this quotation
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 51 A very neat and curious Banquet.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 24 Feb. (1976) IX. 458 Had a mighty neat dish of custards and tarts.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1684) 10 The Camphyre that we use is a neat preparation of the same.
1731 Visct. Bolingbroke Let. 19 Apr. in J. Swift Lett. (1766) III. 29 You keep servants and horses, and frequently give little neat dinners.
1789 M. Underwood Treat. Dis. Children (rev. ed.) I. 51 A few grains of magnesia..forms a much neater medicine.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 248 The male [fowls] making the best roast, and the female the neatest boil.
1857 W. M. Thackeray Let. 13 Jan. (1946) IV. 11 My..Brougham whisks us off to Painters Ship & Turtle..where a neat dinner awaits us.
4.
a. Of a person or animals: habitually clean and tidy; fastidious.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > [adjective] > desirous of or inclined to cleanness
clean1569
neat1577
cleanlya1600
1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. v. sig. K.vv/1 Let euery yong man be neat, not nastie.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 ii. v. 461 Wherein is he..neat and clenly, but to carue a capon and eat it? View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 46 He was very neat, loving clenlinesse both in apparrell and diet.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 121 Finding one haire in a platter of meat, they will not touch it... So strict are they in their neat Superstition.
1670 T. Brooks Wks. (1867) VI. 441 The neatest person may sometimes slip into a slough.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 29 July 129 He was remarkably neat in his dress.
1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xv. 294 Inhabiting dirt, it is, of all animals, the neatest.
1885 M. E. Braddon Wyllard's Weird I. i. 14 He was neat and methodical in all small matters.
1898 Cable 9 Apr. 231/1 A neat farmer is easily distinguished by his fences.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xxvi. 107 Very neat in his black coat and pepper-and-salt trousers.
1940 C. P. Snow Strangers & Brothers xliv. 318 But the café had been respectabilized since then. There were now two floors, and neat waitresses.
1982 T. Berger Reinhart's Women viii. 122 Winona had been none too neat as a fat girl, but as she turned sleek she became tidier in all respects.
b. Put or kept in good order; trim, tidy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > [adjective] > tidy
queemc1450
trig1513
trimc1521
neat1594
polite1602
terse1602
unlittered1612
ship-shape1644
snod1717
tight1720
redd1753
(as) neat (also clean) as a (new) pin1769
mack1825
tidy1828
slick1833
ship-shapely1843
trimly1858
taut1870
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. B2v Now if his mane grow out of order, and he haue rebellious haires, we straight to our sheeres and trim him with what cut it please vs, pick his eares and make him neat.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. i. 102 Now my spruce companions, is all readie, and all things neate ? View more context for this quotation
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 427 At Switz..the people..keep their houses neat and cleanly, and withal very polite and in good repair.
1732 Defoe's Compl. Eng. Tradesman (new ed.) I. xx. 269 A Tradesman's books..should always be kept clean and neat.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. i. xi. 61 His dress..was indeed neat, but plain, coarse, ill-fancied, and out of Fashion. View more context for this quotation
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. v. 147 They met with simple, but neat accommodation.
1865 C. M. Yonge Clever Woman I. 296 The hair and dress, though always neat, and still as simply arranged as possible.
1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer (ed. 2) I. 14 Everything is very neat about him and very quiet.
1934 J. B. Priestley Eng. Journey xi. 379 He lives cosily and conveniently on the outskirts, with..a neat little potato crop, of his own growing, at his right.
1962 I. Murdoch Unofficial Rose xxxvi. 343 Her soft peppery hair..was cut short in a neat yet raffish style about her beaming countenance.
2001 New Scientist 14 Apr. 46 The yellow citrus ant is a type of weaver ant, which binds leaves and twigs with silk to form a neat, tent-like nest.
5. † b. slang. In ironic use: ‘fine’, ‘prize’. Obsolete.
a. colloquial. Good, excellent; desirable, attractive; (weakened in later use) ‘cool’. Also as int. Chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]
faireOE
bremea1000
goodlyOE
goodfulc1275
noblec1300
pricec1300
specialc1325
gentlec1330
fine?c1335
singulara1340
thrivena1350
thriven and throa1350
gaya1375
properc1380
before-passinga1382
daintiful1393
principala1398
gradelya1400
burlyc1400
daintyc1400
thrivingc1400
voundec1400
virtuousc1425
hathelc1440
curiousc1475
singlerc1500
beautiful1502
rare?a1534
gallant1539
eximious1547
jolly1548
egregious?c1550
jellyc1560
goodlike1562
brawc1565
of worth1576
brave?1577
surprising1580
finger-licking1584
admirablea1586
excellinga1586
ambrosial1598
sublimated1603
excellent1604
valiant1604
fabulous1609
pure1609
starryc1610
topgallant1613
lovely1614
soaringa1616
twanging1616
preclarent1623
primea1637
prestantious1638
splendid1644
sterling1647
licking1648
spankinga1666
rattling1690
tearing1693
famous1695
capital1713
yrare1737
pure and —1742
daisy1757
immense1762
elegant1764
super-extra1774
trimming1778
grand1781
gallows1789
budgeree1793
crack1793
dandy1794
first rate1799
smick-smack1802
severe1805
neat1806
swell1810
stamming1814
divine1818
great1818
slap-up1823
slapping1825
high-grade1826
supernacular1828
heavenly1831
jam-up1832
slick1833
rip-roaring1834
boss1836
lummy1838
flash1840
slap1840
tall1840
high-graded1841
awful1843
way up1843
exalting1844
hot1845
ripsnorting1846
clipping1848
stupendous1848
stunning1849
raving1850
shrewd1851
jammy1853
slashing1854
rip-staving1856
ripping1858
screaming1859
up to dick1863
nifty1865
premier cru1866
slap-bang1866
clinking1868
marvellous1868
rorty1868
terrific1871
spiffing1872
all wool and a yard wide1882
gorgeous1883
nailing1883
stellar1883
gaudy1884
fizzing1885
réussi1885
ding-dong1887
jim-dandy1888
extra-special1889
yum-yum1890
out of sight1891
outasight1893
smooth1893
corking1895
large1895
super1895
hot dog1896
to die for1898
yummy1899
deevy1900
peachy1900
hi1901
v.g.1901
v.h.c.1901
divvy1903
doozy1903
game ball1905
goodo1905
bosker1906
crackerjack1910
smashinga1911
jake1914
keen1914
posh1914
bobby-dazzling1915
juicy1916
pie on1916
jakeloo1919
snodger1919
whizz-bang1920
wicked1920
four-star1921
wow1921
Rolls-Royce1922
whizz-bang1922
wizard1922
barry1923
nummy1923
ripe1923
shrieking1926
crazy1927
righteous1930
marvy1932
cool1933
plenty1933
brahmaa1935
smoking1934
solid1935
mellow1936
groovy1937
tough1937
bottler1938
fantastic1938
readyc1938
ridge1938
super-duper1938
extraordinaire1940
rumpty1940
sharp1940
dodger1941
grouse1941
perfecto1941
pipperoo1945
real gone1946
bosting1947
supersonic1947
whizzo1948
neato1951
peachy-keen1951
ridgey-dite1953
ridgy-didge1953
top1953
whizzing1953
badass1955
wild1955
belting1956
magic1956
bitching1957
swinging1958
ridiculous1959
a treat1959
fab1961
bad-assed1962
uptight1962
diggish1963
cracker1964
marv1964
radical1964
bakgat1965
unreal1965
pearly1966
together1968
safe1970
bad1971
brilliant1971
fabby1971
schmick1972
butt-kicking1973
ripper1973
Tiffany1973
bodacious1976
rad1976
kif1978
awesome1979
death1979
killer1979
fly1980
shiok1980
stonking1980
brill1981
dope1981
to die1982
mint1982
epic1983
kicking1983
fabbo1984
mega1985
ill1986
posho1989
pukka1991
lovely jubbly1992
awesomesauce2001
nang2002
bess2006
amazeballs2009
boasty2009
daebak2009
beaut2013
1806 T. Green Country Lover in Orig. Poems 83 ‘My father has a nice bull calf, Which shall be your's, my sweet one; Twill weigh two hundred and a half,’ Says Sal, ‘well, that's a neat one.’
1824 T. C. Croker Researches S. Ireland 89 A neat boy, (a handsome fellow).
1877 E. Harrigan Rising Star (typescript) i. i See if he's got an opening for a couple of neat song and dancers.
1891 J. Fraser Train Wreckers (typescript) i. 10 We will never appear together on the stage and become famous as the neatest sketch team on the road.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) vi. 199 ‘I like this one pretty well,’ continued Jadwin, moving to a canvas by Detaille... ‘Yes, that's pretty neat,’ concurred Gretry.
1934 J. T. Farrell Calico Shoes 54 A girl in a two-piece bathing suit without brassière walked by them... ‘Neat!’ Jack appraised.
1947 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 10 May 26/1 Each of these adjoining rooms has a radio in it, which they find ‘neat’ and I don't.
1972 D. Westheimer Over Edge (1974) i. 10 ‘I could drive you on into Idyllwild if you want.’.. ‘That would be neat.’
1984 Nutshell (Gainesville, Florida) Spring 17/2 It's sort of neat that students can fail each other, because we never really have a say in grades.
2000 Country Music People May 47/1 I got this Engelbert Humberdinck cut... My dad had always been a huge Engelbert fan. It would've been neat if he had known—but he didn't.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > worthlessness > [adjective]
forcouthc888
goodlesseOE
undoughtya1225
voidc1380
bare1399
stark naught1528
worthilessa1542
queer1567
worthless1573
hilding1577
baggage1580
arrant1581
offal1588
lorel1590
losel1601
ragamuffin1602
loselled1606
loselly1611
valuelessa1616
ragamuffa1626
good-for-nothing1706
ne'er-do-well1773
rotten1813
neat1824
scamping1832
good-for-naught1835
no good1838
scampish1847
ne'er-do-wellish1890
no good1904
upter1919
never-do-well1933
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [adjective] > of inferior quality or value or appearance
poorc1300
vile1526
mangya1529
fine1565
palterlya1637
scrubby1754
nice1798
shabby1805
waff-like1808
neat1824
chronic1861
tacky1862
shamblya1937
tatty1940
low-rent1966
scrungy1974
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [adjective] > worthless
forcouthc888
worthless1576
hilding1577
baggage1580
lorel1590
losel1601
ragamuffin1602
loselled1606
loselly1611
offala1626
ragamuffa1626
vagabond1630
good-for-nought1663
good-for-nothing1706
ne'er-do-well1773
ragabash1818
neat1824
scamping1832
scampish1847
wutless1853
trashy1862
ne'er-do-wellish1890
suck-egg1892
never-do-well1933
punk-ass1971
1824 T. Creevey Let. 12 May (1903) II. iii. 75 She has long been known to be a ‘neat un’, but her vagaries at Paris were so undisguised that some friend wrote and advertised her husband of it here.
1827 T. Creevey in H. Maxwell Creevey Papers (1904) II. 138 So much for my new friend! Is he not a neat one?
1829 D. Jerrold Black-ey'd Susan ii. ii. 31 Aren't you a neat gorgon of an uncle now, to cut the painter of a pretty pinnace like this, and send her drifting down the tide of poverty?
6. In the wool trade: designating one of the finer sorts of wool from a fleece.
ΚΠ
1884 W. S. B. McLaren Spinning Woollen & Worsted 19 Fine [wool] from the shoulders; neat, from the middle of the sides and back.
1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 656/2 In the worsted trade the classification [of wool] goes..in descending series, from fine, blue, neat, brown, breech, downright, seconds, to abb... The greater proportion of good English long wool will be classified as blue, neat, and brown.
1934 J. R. Hind Woollen & Worsted Raw Materials xiii. 141 Worsted sorting terms..Fine..Neat..Blue [etc.]
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 571/1 Neat, the name applied by wool-sorters to wool taken from the sides of a lustre fleece of average quality.
1967 M. Polanyi Tech. & Trade Dict. Textile Terms (at cited word) Neat wool.
II. Senses relating to purity.† 7. † 9. Clear, bright. Obsolete.
a. Clean; free from dirt or impurities. Also with from. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > [adjective]
cleanc897
fair?c1225
netc1330
cleanly1340
unspotted1382
blotless?a1400
unwemmeda1400
spotlessc1400
neat1494
unblotted1548
unstained1555
stainlessa1586
exempt1586
unsoiledc1592
undefiled1596
unsullied1598
dirtlessa1618
immaculatea1631
innocent1645
unsmeared1648
unsmutched1809
speckless1827
spandy-clean1838
unblackened1864
soilless1868
smudgeless1924
clinical1932
squeaky clean1975
1494 Loutfut MS f. 39v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nete He..was a man rycht vertues in dedis of noblesse, clere & nete.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 56 His mainour place, beeyng in euery corner veray neat and clene.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 244/2 [They] must shewe them selues neate and cleane from the faultes which S. Paule condemneth here.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §46 Mince the two Capons... Put them into a large neat Boulter.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. v. 184 Linnen cloth, that will not burne being cast into the fire, but serveth to make it neate and white.
1663 N. Walker tr. G. della Casa Refin'd Courtier i. 29 They [sc. hands] should be in open view, and always kept as white and neat, that not the least spot of dirt or sign of filth should be seen upon them.
1804 W. Clark Jrnl. 24 Oct. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1987) V. 335 I counted 107 Stacks of dried pounded fish in different places on those rocks which must have contained 10,000 w. of neet fish.
b. neat patent n. = pratique n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > permission to enter or leave port
neat patent1609
pratique1609
product1675
port pass1678
1609 W. Biddulph Trauels Certaine Englishmen 6 Yet must they not come on shoare before they haue shewed their Fede, or Neate patent vnto three officers, called Signiors of health.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 226 Euery ship had a neat Patent to shew that those places from whence they came were free from the infection.
8. † c. Of a language: pure. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of alcoholic liquors: pure; unadulterated; spec. not mixed with water (or, in later use: soft drink, etc.); undiluted.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > neat or undiluted
neat1578
solid1894
sheer-
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [adjective] > neat
neat1578
naked1824
straight1856
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > qualities or characteristics of wine > [adjective] > undiluted
mere1545
neat1578
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 84 The Wine that runneth on the lees, is not therefore to be accompted neate bicause it was drawne of the same peece.
1649 F. Roberts Clavis Bibliorum (ed. 2) 80 Thou didst drink wine both pure and neate.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 124 She saw me mix water with my wine,..she and her women drank it neat.
1712 R. Steele in Spectator No. 264. ¶5 The Hogsheads of Neat Port came safe.
1762 R. Lloyd Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 6 Will you pour out to English swine, Neat as imported, old Greek wine?
1815 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 68 Accustomed to drink neat spirits.
1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. i. 50 I should take a small glass of brandy neat.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind 409 Well, hurry and get the whisky, quickly. We'll take it neat.
1994 BBC Vegetarian Good Food Aug. 34/3 Order a spritzer (wine mixed with mineral or soda water) rather than neat wine to dilute the alcohol.
b. More generally, of any other substance: pure; unadulterated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > [adjective] > unadulterated or undiluted
clean883
purea1393
uncorrumpeda1400
uncorrupted1541
sincere1557
stark naked?1594
undelayed1600
unsophisticated1630
entire1640
inadulterate1648
dephlegmated1651
neat1651
unalloyeda1672
intaminateda1695
undrossy1708
net1713
unadulterate1716
unsophistical1736
uncauponateda1752
undiluted1756
absolute1810
undefecated1812
unadulterated1823
undilute1876
undoctored1882
uncut1967
1651 R. Child Large Let. in S. Hartlib Legacie 68 If one take pure neat honey, and ingeniously clarifie and scum and boyl it.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 385 Grains of gold, absolute gold, pure and neat.
1708 E. Cook Sot-weed Factor 18 Cask that should contain compleat, Five hundred of Tobacco neat.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 359/2 I was obliged to drink rum; it wouldn't ha done to ha drunk the water neat.
1885 W. L. Carpenter Treat. Manuf. Soap 174 The soap..may..be put in the ‘neat’ state direct into the cooling-boxes.
1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise 21 They preferred their tea neat.
1988 Natural Choice ii. 1/3 Never use the oils neat on the skin—dilute two drops with 98 drops of a good vegetable oil.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > [adjective] > creole or mixed > unmixed
mere1561
neat1686
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 378 They speak Persian, more or less neat [Fr. purement], as the people are more or less at a distance from Shiras.
d. figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table vi. 191 A remark which seems to contradict a universally current opinion is not generally to be taken ‘neat’, but watered with the ideas of common-sense and commonplace people.
1887 Brit. Weekly 5 Aug. 219/2 They could take the truth neat, so to speak.
1954 H. Belloc Sonnets & Verse 144 You wanted science and you've got it—neat.
1955 G. Greene Quiet Amer. ii. ii. 115 I ceased, for those seconds, to exist: I was fear taken neat.
2000 J. Caughie Television Drama iii. 59 The granting of independence to India could be presented..with some pomp and ceremonial dignity; but Suez was humiliation taken neat.
e. Of mortar: made from cement and water only, without the addition of sand.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > cement or mortar > [adjective] > types of cement or mixtures
lean1726
neat1932
soil-cement1936
1932 T. Corkhill Conc. Building Encycl. 142 Neat, a term applied to cement mortar without sand.
1947 J. C. Rich Materials & Methods Sculpt. xi. 328 Neat cement is a mixture of cement and water. It is not recommended for sculptural use save as a retouching medium.
1964 H. F. W. Taylor Chem. Cements I. 2 Mechanical or physical determinations, such as strength tests, are usually made with an aggregate present, as determinations of this type on neat cement pastes can give misleading results.
1986 E. Hall in A. Limon et al. Home Owner Man. (ed. 2) iii. ix. 434 The multitudinous joints..were made by caulking a tarred rope grommet into the space between spigot and drain socket and completing the joint with either neat portland cement or a mixture of two parts cement to one of sand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [adjective] > bright
shininga900
lighteOE
lightlyOE
sheenOE
torhtOE
shirea1000
steepa1000
shimmeringc1000
brightOE
strongOE
clear1297
fair?a1300
bright-shininga1387
merrya1393
skirea1400
lucident14..
shimc1400
staringc1400
luculentc1420
splendent1474
illuminousc1485
lucentc1500
bloominga1522
sheer1565
prelucent1568
faculent1575
splendant1578
lucid1591
neat1591
shine1596
translucent1596
well-lighted1606
nitid1615
lucible1623
dilucid1653
translucid1657
hard1660
1591 E. Spenser Virgil's Gnat in Complaints sig. H3 Fresh springing wells, as christall neate.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) iii. xi. 154 A Membrane..wherewith it is covered, and shines with a neat color.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 133 This stone is very hard, looks like a kind of Porphyrie, and is very neat when polished.
1797 Encycl. Brit. VII. 764/1 The sand..was peculiarly adapted to the making of glass, as being neat and glittering.
10. † c. Unbroken; complete. Obsolete. rare.
a. Free from any reductions; clear; = net adj. 3a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > funds or pecuniary resources > [adjective] > of amount remaining after deductions
net1418
neat1599
netback1962
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > deduction > [adjective] > free from deduction or remaining after deduction
clean1381
net1418
clearc1500
subtilec1503
neat1599
1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 200 600000 ducates of golde, neat and free of all charges.
1670 J. Pettus Fodinæ Regales 19 Paying the King the eighth part neat.
1685 W. Petty Will p. vii I have of neat profits out of the lands..1100l. per ann.
1714 R. Steele Lover (1727) No. 24. 142 The Brother's Estate..when cleared would not be a neat Thousand a Year.
1747 Fool (1748) II. 150 The Commander has..Two-Eighths of the neat Produce of every Prize.
1761 A. Hamilton Let. 19 Dec. in H. Bouquet Papers (1942) 239 There is no possibility of being Exact in the neat Weight.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. ix. 118 It is this surplus only which is neat or clear profit.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. iv. 457 He offered to give a neat sum, to cover all expenses.
1887 Daily News 28 June 2/5 Sheep trade improved and prices higher, especially for prime neat weights.
1918 Stars & Stripes 15 Mar. 6/2 Many prominent and wise Gothamites have testified to losing neat sums up to $20,000 like little country boys in the hands of wicked bunco steerers.
1957 William & Mary Q. 14 191 Services rendered..turned into a claim of £9491 sterling in less than ten years, or a neat profit of over 1,500 per cent.
b. Exact, precise. Now Scottish.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > of measures, quantities
evenOE
graith1352
neat1682
specific1740
specifical1768
1682 J. Scarlett Stile of Exchanges 58 If the Endorser cannot meet with a Remitter, for the Neat and precise Sum.
1755 N. Magens Ess. Insurances I. 69 This is the sum whereon the Repartition ought to be made; all the particular Goods bearing their neat Proportion.
1863 J. Young Lays from Ingle Nook 15 Wee gabbie Annie o' saxteen, Neat eellens wi' her cousin Jean.
1895 A. G. Murdoch Sc. Readings I. 71 Jist say a nate sixpence worth.
1923 G. Watson Roxburghshire Word-bk. 218 Nate, exact: ‘Nate measure’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > [adjective] > whole or intact
yholec1000
wholeOE
all wholec1175
hale1357
haila1400
intactc1450
undeflowereda1533
dintless1558
pure1607
undinteda1616
entirea1631
neat1715
1715 London Gaz. No. 5360/9 All the..French Wines are neat and entire parcels.
B. adv.
1. = neatly adv. Now colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > pleasing appearance > [adverb] > neatly or trimly
feata1525
pickedlya1528
trimly1534
trim1544
netly1564
neata1578
neatly1577
smugly?1578
deftly1579
neatly1581
trickly1581
trick1594
sprucely1598
spruce?1605
comptly1611
snogly1615
spruntly1631
queemly1703
snodly1721
trigly1728
tidilya1756
natty1810
spick and span1815
tightly1825
featly1834
jemmily1837
nattily1849
dapperly1858
snappily1936
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > elegance > [adverb]
finec1400
worthilyc1400
nicelyc1450
handsomely1530
smicklyc1639
elegantly1753
neat1755
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adverb] > with physical skill
listlyc1000
featouslya1375
featlyc1400
deftlya1500
expedient1509
deliverly1530
handsomely1530
courteouslya1533
neatlya1547
dexteriously1605
cleverly1614
featilya1640
dexterously1646
deft1805
neat1822
handily1832
as neat (also nice, right, etc.) as ninepence1857
a1578 J. Heywood Witty & Witless 251 in Two Moral Interludes (1991) 27 As muche delyght carters oft in carts neate trymd as do studyents yn bokes wythe golde neate lymd.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 195 Its head was much bigger and neater shap'd.
1755 J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) II. 53 She was dressed extremely neat, without show or ostentation.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 423 The rest..he disposes neat At measured distances.
1822 J. Platts Bk. Curiosities 752 To lay their colour or ink neater on the paper.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xvi. 178 I think I can do it neater than you could.
c1863 T. Taylor in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1969) II. 160 He managed that letter uncommon neat.
1969 J. Gaskell Sweet Sweet Summer 15 She trusts herself to shoot neat if there's trouble.
2. regional (chiefly Scottish and Irish English). Exactly, precisely.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb]
rightlyeOE
righteOE
evenOE
evenlya1225
redlyc1275
justicelya1375
justilya1375
justlya1375
redilya1375
trulya1375
properlya1382
precisec1392
preciselyc1392
truec1392
straitlya1395
leala1400
arightc1405
by linec1420
justlyc1425
featlya1450
rule-righta1450
to the letter?1495
exquisitely1526
evenliklya1530
very1530
absolutely1538
jump1539
just1568
accurately1581
punctually1581
jumplya1586
arights1596
just so1601
plumb1601
compassly1606
nicelya1616
squarely1626
justa1631
adequately1632
mathematicallya1638
critically1655
exquisitively1660
just1665
pointedly1667
faithfully1690
correctlya1704
jus1801
jest1815
jes1851
neat1875
cleanly1883
on the nose1883
smack-dab1892
spot on1920
forensically1974
1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. (at cited word) 'Tis ten rod neat, no more and no less.
1894 ‘I. Maclaren’ Beside Bonnie Brier Bush 201 It cam tae the hundred neat.
1915 J. L. Waugh Betty Grier 132 That'll be five pounds six shillin's-nate, as it were.
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 195/1 Neat, exactly. It is just three foot neat.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic.
neat-boned adj.
ΚΠ
1982 H. MacInnes Cloak of Darkness 81 His brother..was his replica—neat-boned face, large eyes, a small mustache over a wide mouth.
neat-faced adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > types of face > [adjective]
flatc1400
hardc1400
low-cheeredc1400
large?a1425
ruscledc1440
well-visagedc1440
platter-faced1533
well-faced1534
full-faced1543
fair-faced1553
bright-faceda1560
crab-faced1563
crab-snouted1563
crab-tree-faced1563
long-visaged1584
owlya1586
wainscot-faced1588
flaberkin1592
rough-hewn1593
angel-faced1594
round-faced1594
crab-favoured1596
rugged1596
weasel-faced1596
rough-faced1598
half-faced1600
chitty1601
lenten-faced1604
broad-faced1607
dog-faced1607
weaselled-faced1607
wry-faced1607
maid-faced1610
warp-faced1611
ill-faceda1616
lean-faceda1616
old-faceda1616
moon-faced1619
monkey-faced1620
chitty-face1622
chitty-faceda1627
lean-chapt1629
antic-faced1635
bloat-faced1638
bacon-facea1640
blue-faced1640
hatchet-faced1648
grave1650
lean-jawed1679
smock-faced1684
lean-visaged1686
flaber1687
baby-faced1692
splatter-faced1707
chubby1722
puggy1722
block-faced1751
haggard-looking1756
long-faced1762
haggardly1763
fresh-faced1766
dough-faced1773
pudding-faced1777
baby-featured1780
fat-faced1782
haggard1787
weazen-face1794
keen1798
ferret-like1801
lean-cheeked1812
mulberry-faced1812
open-faced1813
open-countenanced1819
chiselled1821
hatchety1821
misfeatured1822
terse1824
weazen-faced1824
mahogany-faced1825
clock-faced1827
sharp1832
sensual1833
beef-faced1838
weaselly1838
ferret-faced1840
sensuous1843
rat-faced1844
recedent1849
neat-faced1850
cherubimical1854
pinch-faced1859
cherubic1860
frownya1861
receding1866
weak1882
misfeaturing1885
platopic1885
platyopic1885
pro-opic1885
wind-splitting1890
falcon-face1891
blunt-featured1916
bun-faced1927
fish-faced1963
1850 Internat. Mag. Oct. 432 Features which..were..unlike what we fair, well-fed, neat-faced Englishmen are wont to consider comely.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda III. vi. xlii. 225 The pale, neat-faced copying clerk.
neat-figured adj.
ΚΠ
1840 L. S. Costello Summer amongst Bocages & Vines I. xx. 351 Dozens of neat-figured girls hurried on their way to church.
1907 Daily Chron. 9 Sept. 5/7 If more girls laced tightly there would be fewer doing the daily jaunt to the City, as many men of my acquaintance would gladly marry, but want a graceful, neat-figured girl.
neat-fingered adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > having or characterized by bodily skill > skilled with hands
handya1525
fine-fingeredc1555
sure-handed1555
nimble-fingered1629
neat-fingered1641
neat-handed1645
sleight-hand1792
1641 J. Milton Animadversions 17 Doubtlesse the neat finger'd Artist will answer yes.
1828 C. Lamb Old Margate Hoy in Elia 2nd Ser. 30 Thy neat-fingered practice in thy culinary vocation.
1998 Guardian (Nexis) 4 Apr. (Weekend Suppl.) 54 If you're neat-fingered, you can lift and separate the seedlings, when tiny.
neat-footed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > foot > [adjective] > types of
long-footed1552
tender-footed1682
flat1697
round-heeled1772
neat-footed1870
cat-footed1883
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. ix. 293 For the sake Of his neat-footed bride.
neat-limbed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > [adjective] > good
well-madec1325
well-setc1330
featous1340
largec1405
well-trussedc1425
well-attempereda1460
well-featureda1460
clean-limbed1461
well-bodied1481
well-drawn?a1534
clean-madea1535
trussed1548
clean-legged1568
trim1568
well-knit1581
well-thewed1583
well-timbered1595
clear-limbed1596
clean-timbered1598
well-mounted1607
well-turned1631
clever1674
neat-limbeda1697
well built1706
well-set-up1790
clean-built1840
athletic1925
mesomorphic1926
a1697 J. Aubrey Brief Lives (1898) II. 260 [John Tombes] was but a little man, neat limbed, a little quick searching eie, sad, gray.
1747 tr. Mem. Nutrebian Court II. 252 The neat-limbed Nugmeg suckling the infant.
1863 T. Chase Hellas 3 There was a tall, graceful, neat-limbed Arab from Algiers.
neat-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1817 J. Austen Sanditon i, in Minor Wks. (1954) 364 The neat-looking end of a Cottage, which was seen romantically situated among wood on a high Eminence.
1843 W. M. Thackeray Irish Sketch-bk. I. xiv. 262 A neat-looking dissenting meeting-house.
1992 Pract. Fishkeeping Sept. 54 A new range of neat-looking internal power filters.
neat-minded adj.
ΚΠ
1983 J. Carey Orig. Copy (1987) 253 A neat-minded philistine of gleaming respectability.
C2. Adverbial.† neat-polished adj. Obsolete
neat-bound adj.
ΚΠ
1822 C. Lamb in London Mag. July 34 To be strong-backed and neat-bound is the desideratum of a volume.
1995 Wisconsin State Jrnl. (Nexis) 30 May d3 The exciting find was packet upon packet of $ 20s, $ 50s and $ 100s neatbound with rubber bands.., stuffed into a gym bag.
neat-built adj.
ΚΠ
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxxviii. 161 She was a very smart, neat built little heifer.
1940 E. Blunsden Poems 1930–1940 219 Tice, son of duty, waits for us in his neat-built sarcophagus.
neat-clothed adj.
ΚΠ
1607 J. Marston What you Will i. sig. B2 Well stokt, neat clothed Cytizens.
1924 J. Galsworthy White Monkey i. vii. 55 Wouldn't you rather share a bedroom with a clean, neat-clothed plumber's assistant..than with a profiteer?
neat-cut adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > [adjective] > cutting off or away (with an instrument) > cut off or cut with an instrument
forcedc1440
pared1440
clipped1483
well-shaven1542
chipped1562
shared1598
slit1611
snipped1611
circumcised1664
neat-cut1770
whittled1792
sliced1874
skived1875
1770 N.Y. Jrnl. 24 May Flower'd Glass,..Neat Cut Salts.
1828 T. Moore Odes upon Cash, Corn, Catholics 90 A cloven hoof, Through a neat-cut Hoby smoking out.
1991 D. Wingrove Chung Kuo 99 He..stood by the open hatchway, looking outwards, his neat-cut hair barely moving in the icy wind.
neat-dressed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > smartly or elegantly dressed
well-arrayeda1387
well-clada1400
well-apparelledc1450
well-dressed1484
fine1526
point-devicea1529
feat1560
tiffety-taffety1595
well-gowned1632
well-rigged1741
neat-dressed1757
smartc1778
well-turned-out1825
well-tailored1828
upholstered1892
whip-smart1937
sharp1944
pressed1963
1757 J. Dyer Fleece iii. 100 The neat-dress'd housewives..Come tripping on.
1877 A. A. Whitman Not Man, yet Man 170 Small farm houses..And neat dressed orchards, dot th'enlivened view.
neat-fitting adj.
ΚΠ
1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xlviii. 211 The neatest-fitting trousers..that ever were seen.
1929 M. Lief Hangover 232 ‘You're looking fine,’ said Whippet, admiring her..slim figure in a neat-fitting sweater-suit.
2001 Doncaster Templestowe News (Nexis) 29 Aug. (Car section) 60 Neat-fitting velour seats..and adjustable steering generally make for comfortable motoring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > polishing > [adjective]
polisheda1382
forbed1413
furbishedc1430
smeltc1540
nitid1615
neat-polished1729
1729 R. Savage Wanderer v. 43 Neat polish'd mansions rise in prospect gay.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
neatv.
/niːt/, U.S. /nit/ Now regional (rare).† 2. transitive. To gain (a sum) as a net profit; to net. Obsolete.
1. † b. intransitive. English regional (Kent). With about, in same sense. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To make (something or someone) neat; = neaten v.; †to clean (obsolete). Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > clean [verb (transitive)]
yclense971
cleansea1000
farmOE
fayc1220
fowc1350
absterse?a1425
mundify?a1425
muck1429
to cast clean1522
absterge1526
sprinkle1526
reconcile1535
net1536
clengec1540
neat?1575
snuff?1575
rinse1595
deterge1623
scavengea1644
scavenger1645
decrott1653
reform1675
clean1681
deterse1684
fluxa1763
to clean away, offa1839
to clean down1839
scavage1851
untaint1855
to sand and canvas1912
?1575 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) 368 It shall be more expedient, to neate and purge the snuffers, than to snuffe the Candelles.
?1579 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlviii. 101 Our bottismen our geir perfytlie neits.
1653 W. Hemings Fatal Contract Who neats her teeth, and lips discloses, Walls of Pearl, and gates of Roses.
1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation 37 A girdle..was used for neating the long robe.
1796 W. H. Marshall Planting I. 14 The seeds are sown..the intervals cleared, the beds neated up,..the business is finished.
1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 135 Gae, nate thy legs, sae ill-built, bowl'd and bandy.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. Neat, to make neat and clean.
1994 B. Wilson Cordelia Clark 110 Don't ask me to neat up my past, all in one sitting.
ΚΠ
c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) (at cited word) ‘She neats about’, i.e. she goes about the house, making things neat and clean.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > sell [verb (transitive)]
to sell awayc1230
to set to (for, on) sale, a-salec1275
sella1330
to make sale (of)c1430
market1455
to make penny of1464
vent1478
to put away1574
dispatch1592
money1598
vent1602
to put off1631
vend1651
hawk1713
realize1720
mackle1724
neat1747
to sell over1837
unload1884
flog1919
move1938
shift1976
1747 G. G. Beekman Let. July in Beekman Mercantile Papers (1956) I. 21 It [sc. a bill for flour] will amount to Conciderable more then the Rum will neat.
1788 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Yorks. I. 246 It would have neated only 2d a foot.
1803 Trans. Soc. Arts 21 120 These have..neated fully eighteen pounds ten shillings an acre.
Derivatives
ΚΠ
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xl. 233 The houres before learning..are to be bestowed, vpon either neating of the bodie, or solacing of the minde.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> as lemmas
NEAT
NEAT n. non-exercise activity thermogenesis (or non-exercise-associated thermogenesis), the energy dissipated as heat by a person during minor physical activity (such as fidgeting or shivering) that does not involve a large expenditure of energy and is not perceived as exercise.
Π
1999 Dallas Morning News (Nexis) 8 Jan. a23/1 At the end of the study, everyone had gained weight. But the less weight people gained, the more calories they were burning through what the researchers dubbed NEAT, for nonexercise activity thermogenesis.
2005 Independent 28 Jan. 18/3 They have low Neat, which means they have a biological need to sit more.
2013 J. M. Jakicic in J. M. Rippe Lifestyle Med. xlii. 530/1 The term nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is used to describe energy expenditure that does not result from sleeping, eating, or structured exercise.
<
n.1eOE
adj.n.2int.adv.1453
v.?1575as lemmas