• adj. 灵巧的；整洁的；优雅的；齐整的；未搀水的；平滑的

来自拉丁语nitere,照耀，光照，来自PIE*nei,照耀，词源同拉丁语eniteo,发光，杰出的。引申词义整洁的，干净的。比较clean.

neat

neat: English has two words neat. The older is now virtually obsolete, while the commoner is a comparatively recent introduction. Neat ‘tidy’ [16] was borrowed from French net ‘neat, clean’. This goes back to Latin nitidus ‘elegant, shiny’, a derivative of the verb nītēre ‘shine’. English originally acquired the word in the 14th century as net ‘clean, tidy’ (from which the modern net ‘with deductions’ developed).

This had a 16thcentury derivative netty, which may be the source of modern English natty [18]. Neat ‘cow, ox’ [OE] is now encountered only in gastronomic contexts, such as ‘neat’s foot jelly’, and even then is an archaism. It goes back to prehistoric Germanic *nautam, a derivative of a base meaning ‘use’, and hence reflects (like cattle itself) the original notion of cattle as ‘useful property’.
=> natty, net

neat (adj.)

1540s, "clean, free from dirt," from Anglo-French neit, Middle French net "clear, pure" (12c.), from Latin nitidus "well-favored, elegant, trim," literally "gleaming," from nitere "to shine," from PIE root *nei- "to shine" (cognates: Middle Irish niam "gleam, splendor," niamda "shining;" Old Irish noib "holy," niab "strength;" Welsh nwyfiant "gleam, splendor").

Meaning "inclined to be tidy" is from 1570s. Of liquor, "straight," c. 1800, from meaning "unadulterated" (of wine), which is first attested 1570s. Informal sense of "very good" first recorded 1934 in American English; variant neato is teenager slang, first recorded 1968. Related: Neatly; neatness.

neat (n.)

"ox, bullock, cow," Old English neat "ox, beast, animal," from Proto-Germanic *nautam "thing of value, possession" (cognates: Old Frisian nat, Middle Dutch noot, Old High German noz, Old Norse naut), from PIE root *neud- "to make use of, enjoy."

1. Neat solutions are not easily found to these issues.

很难找到解决这些问题的巧妙办法。

来自柯林斯例句

2. A rather neat option allows you to design your own fiendish puzzle.

只要干净利落地做一个选择，你就能自己设计出难以解开的谜题。

来自柯林斯例句

3. He poured himself a brandy and swallowed it neat.

他给自己倒了一杯白兰地，没兑水就一饮而尽。

来自柯林斯例句

4. "Make the punishment fit the crime." How neat and tidy it sounded.

“罪罚相当”，这听起来多么简洁。

来自柯林斯例句

5. The rest of the room was neat and impersonal.

房间的其余部分整洁干净，不带任何的个人色彩。

来自柯林斯例句