• adj. 靈巧的；整潔的；優雅的；齊整的；未攙水的；平滑的

來自拉丁語nitere,照耀，光照，來自PIE*nei,照耀，詞源同拉丁語eniteo,發光，杰出的。引申詞義整潔的，干凈的。比較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.

很難找到解決這些問題的巧妙辦法。

來自柯林斯例句

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

只要干凈利落地做一個選擇，你就能自己設計出難以解開的謎題。

來自柯林斯例句

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

他給自己倒了一杯白蘭地，沒兌水就一飲而盡。

來自柯林斯例句

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

“罪罰相當”，這聽起來多么簡潔。

來自柯林斯例句

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

房間的其余部分整潔干凈，不帶任何的個人色彩。

來自柯林斯例句