neat

Etymology 1

From Middle English *nete, net, nette (> Modern net "after deductions, unadulterated"), from Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”), a variant of Old French net, nette ("clean, clear, pure"; from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”), from niteō (“I shine”)). Cognate with German nett (“nice, kind”).

adj

1. Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities.
   My room is neat because I tidied it this morning.  She has very neat hair.
   A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…]. 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess
2. Free from contaminants; unadulterated, undiluted. Particularly of liquor and cocktails; see usage below.
   I like my whisky neat.
   1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, lines 464-465, A cup of neate wine of Orleance, That never came neer the brewers of England.
   From this same Head, this Fountain-head divine, For different Palates springs a different Wine! In which no Tricks, to strengthen, or to thin ’em— Neat as imported—no French Brandy in em’ 1756, David Garrick, Catharine and Petruchio, London: J. & R. Tonson and S. Draper, Prologue
   1932, Winston Churchill, Painting as a Pastime, New York: Cornerstone Library, 1965, At one side of the palette there is white, at the other black; and neither is ever used ‘neat.’
3. (chemistry) Conditions with a liquid reagent or gas performed with no standard solvent or cosolvent.
   The Arbuzov reaction is performed by adding the bromide to the phosphite, neat.  The molecular beam was neat acetylene.
4. (archaic) With all deductions or allowances made; net.
   Why without telling the least title of Falshood, within the space of the last Week’s Play, the Gains of Count Cog, really amounted to no less than Twenty Thousand Pounds Sterling neat Money. 1720, William Bond, chapter 4, in The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campbell, London: E. Curll, pages 55–56
   Dr. Swift […] says, in his short view of the state of Ireland, that the whole cash of that kingdom amounted to 500,000 l. that out of this they remitted every year a neat million to England, and had scarce any other source to compensate themselves from […] 1752, David Hume, Political Discourses, Edinburgh: A. Kincaid & A. Donaldson, Discourse 5, page 81
   It may be said, that the increase of the tax is an uncompensated reduction of the neat income of the landlord […] 1793, John Brand, The Alteration of the Constitution of the House of Commons, and the Inequality of the Land-Tax, Considered Jointly, London: J. Evans, Section III, p. 52
5. Having a simple elegance or style; clean, trim, tidy, tasteful.
   The front room was neat and carefully arranged for the guests.
6. Well-executed or delivered; clever, skillful, precise.
   Having the two protagonists meet in the last act was a particularly neat touch.
7. Facile; missing complexity or details in the favor of convenience or simplicity.
   Courts should not reduce this case to a neat set of legal rules.
8. (Canada, US, colloquial) Good, excellent, desirable.
   Hey, neat convertible, man.
   You can tell that Rory has had this type of talent in him for some time now, and to see him putting it together is pretty neat to see. June 20, 2011, Phil Mickelson (being quoted), “US Open: Jack Nicklaus tips Rory McIlroy for greatness”, in BBC News
9. Obsolete form of net (“remaining after expenses or deductions”).
   What is the neat weight of 4 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing 10cwt. 3qrs. 10lb. gross; — tare 100lb. per hdd.? 1824, Stephen Pike, The Teachers' Assistant: Or a System of Practical Arithmetic, page 97

intj

1. Used to signify a job well done.
2. Used to signify approval.

noun

1. (informal) An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.

Etymology 2

From Middle English nete, neat, from Old English nēat (“animal, beast, ox, cow, cattle”), from Proto-West Germanic *naut, from Proto-Germanic *nautą (“foredeal, profit, property, livestock”), from Proto-Indo-European *newd- (“to acquire, make use of”). Cognate with Dutch noot (“cow, cattle”, in compounds), dialectal German Noß (“livestock”), Alemannic German Nooss (“young sheep or goat”), Swedish nöt (“cattle”), Icelandic naut (“cattle, bull”) and Faroese neyt (“cattle”) More at note.

noun

1. (archaic) A bull or cow.
   […] I sat down by this water in the shade to dine, on a neat’s tongue I had got from good Mrs. Price […] 1756, Thomas Amory, chapter 28, in The Life of John Buncle, Esq., London: J. Noon, page 165
2. (archaic) Cattle collectively.