Dictionary entry

Neat

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Neat (nēt), n. sing. & pl. [AS. neát; akin to OHG. nōz, Icel. naut, Sw. nöt, Dan. nöd, and to AS. neótan to make use of, G. geniessen, Goth. niutan to have a share in, have joy of, Lith. nauda use, profit.] (Zoöl.) Cattle of the genus Bos, as distinguished from horses, sheep, and goats; an animal of the genus Bos; as, a neat's tongue; a neat's foot. Chaucer.

Wherein the herds were keeping of their neat. Spenser.

The steer, the heifer, and the calf

Are all called neat. Shak.

A neat and a sheep of his own. Tusser.

Neat's-foot, an oil obtained by boiling the feet of neat cattle. It is used to render leather soft and pliable.