*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of neat

From Middle English nete, net, nette, from Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”), a variant of Old French net, nette (“clean, clear, pure”), from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”), derived from nitēre (“to shine”). Doubl

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
intj

Used to signify a job well done. · Used to signify approval.

noun

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

adj

Clean, tidy; free from dirt or impurities. · Free from contaminants or impurities, unadulterated. · At full strength, free from dilution (usually with water), undiluted · Neither straight up nor on the rocks

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English nete, net, nette, from Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”), a variant of Old French net, nette (“clean, clear, pure”), from Latin nitidus (“gleaming”), derived from nitēre (“to shine”). Doublet of net and nitid. Cognate with German nett (“nice, kind”). Compare also nait.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionneteenm
  • Derivation mentionnetfro
  • Derivation mentionnitidusla · gleaming
  • Doublet mentionneten
  • Doublet mentionnitiden
  • Cognate mentionnettde · nice, kind

This page abbreviates 7 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "nete"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English nete"
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      "args": {
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        "2": "xno",
        "3": "neit",
        "t": "good, desirable, clean"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman neit (“good, desirable, clean”)"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "3": "net"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French net"
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Latin nitidus (“gleaming”)"
    },
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        "2": "net",
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        "id1": "remaining after deductions"
      },
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    },
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      },
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    }
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      "nette#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "neit#Old_French"
    ],
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      "net#Old_French"
    ],
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      "nette#Old_French"
    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "nitid#English"
    ],
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      "nett#German"
    ],
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      "nait",
      "nait#English"
    ]
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Cattle collectively.

noun

A bull or cow.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English net, neet, 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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionnetenm
  • Inherited-form mentionnēatang · animal, beast, ox, cow, cattle
  • Inherited-form mention*nautgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*nautągem-pro · foredeal, profit, property, livestock
  • Derivation mention*newd-ine-pro · to acquire, make use of
  • Cognate mentionnootnl · cow, cattle
  • Cognate mentionnautis · cattle, bull
  • Cognate mentionneytfo · cattle
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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    },
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        "t": "to acquire, make use of"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "noot",
        "t": "cow, cattle",
        "pos": "in compounds"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch noot (“cow, cattle”, in compounds)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
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        "t": "cattle, bull"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic naut (“cattle, bull”)"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "neyt",
        "t": "cattle"
      },
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    }
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    ],
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    ],
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      "neat#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nautą"
    ],
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      "*newd-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/newd-"
    ],
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      "noot",
      "noot#Dutch"
    ],
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      "Noß",
      "Noß#Bavarian"
    ],
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      "Nooss",
      "Nooss#Alemannic_German"
    ],
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      "nöt",
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    ],
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      "naut",
      "naut#Icelandic"
    ],
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      "neyt",
      "neyt#Faroese"
    ],
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      "note",
      "note#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "Cattle collectively."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for neat →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bmVhdA