The Collaborative International Dictionary
Neat \Neat\ (n[=e]t), n. sing. & pl. [AS. ne['a]t; akin to OHG.
n[=o]z, Icel. naut, Sw. n["o]t, Dan. n["o]d, and to AS.
ne['o]tan to make use of, G. geniessen, Goth. niutan to have
a share in, have joy of, Lith. nauda use, profit.] (Zo["o]l.)
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[men] 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.
Usage examples of "neat's-foot".
The blade came free from its sheath of leatherbound wood with a hiss of metal on oak greased with neat's-foot oil.
No keyhole in the door at the end of the hall and so we slide underneath like a telegram and into a room we immediately know is a boy's room: we can tell from the mingled smells of dirty athletic socks and neat's-foot oil.
The gelding's forehooves were big as war hammers, shiny with neat's-foot oil, and shod with iron.
His face alone boasted separate areas of beeswax, elk fat, and neat's-foot oil.
The rest are pulverized bone mixed with lard or neat's-foot oil, with different flavors.
His boots and other leather had been brushed and scrubbed and then re-suppled with neat's-foot oil, and his gray silk tunic and cloak washed, dried, and neatly mended, each new seam and patch interlocked and double-stitched.
The fingers rubbed a small amount of neat's-foot oil into the strop, slowly, without hurry.
Though it wore a mellow patina of age, it had been preserved with neat's-foot oil and loving care.
Even now he could remember the thrill when he unpacked the gold-stamped, gold-edged books with their elaborate leather covers, the smell of ink and paper and neat's-foot oil.