noun
neat
Cattle, in archaic or technical usage.
The old farm ledger lists the neat separately from the sheep.
Etymology
The Old English noun named cattle or livestock. It survives chiefly in older and specialized language, separate from the adjective meaning tidy.
More examples
- The lease grants pasture for twenty head of neat.
- The inventory records six neat and a pair of horses.
- The deed reserves this meadow for grazing neat.
Forms
neat · neats
Similar words
- cattle
- The ordinary modern term, without archaic or technical overtones.
- oxen
- Specifically cattle trained for pulling loads or farm work.