English → Latin
“neat” in Latin
nitidusshining, polished, glittering; handsome, beautiful, good-looking; healthy-looking, well conditionedlepiduspleasant, charming; witty; effeminateēlegānsfine, elegant, handsome; tasteful; fastidious, criticaldīcōto say, talk, speak, utter, mention; to declare, state; to tellpuellagirl, lass, maiden (female child); sweetheart, mistress, beloved maiden; young woman, young wifebōshead of cattle (cow, bull, steer, or ox)taurusa bull, steer; the constellation Taurus the bull; an instrument of torture, in the shape of a bull
The English word neat itself goes back to Latin niteō, through nitidus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
neat adj.
nitidus (the proper word, Herzog, Quint., 10, p. 105): comtus (both words, either of appearance, or of style, etc.). (The words are found in this connection and order.) nitidus et comtus; lepidus (pretty, full of humor; e.g., dictum, puella): elegans (elegant in appearance and in manner): a neat little gentleman, ad unguem factus homo (Hor., Sat., 1, 5, 32): juvenis barba et coma nitidus, totus de capsula (Sen., Ep., 115, 2): neat behavior, morum elegantia.
neat s.
A single head of cattle, bos; taurus: but ☞ rarely used in this way except in phrases, such as neat’s tongue, neat’s foot, lingua bovis; pes bovis, tauri.
Horned cattle, pecus bubulum; boves (plur.); armenta boum.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for neat?
- The usual Latin words for “neat” are nitidus, lepidus, ēlegāns; also dīcō, puella, bōs. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.