neatenv.
/ˈniːtn/, U.S. /ˈnitn/ transitive. To make (something or someone) neat. In later use frequently with up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > improve in appearance > make neat
neaten1828
the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)] > put in order or tidy
redeOE
slick1340
redda1500
prepare1585
spruce1594
rid1599
snod1608
to clear up1762
snug1787
ted1811
tidy1821
side1825
fix1832
to pick up1853
mense1859
straighten1867
square1909
neaten1942
1828 New Monthly Mag. 24 203/2 A ‘silken’ sort of tinder-voice—a kind of female falsetto stop—which evidently facilitates and neatens the execution, if we may be allowed the term.
1880 Econ. Housewife viii. 73 In covering arm-chairs..take a pattern of the seat, back, arms, and the piece which ‘neatens’ the back.
1898 Sun 23 Apr. 4/1 The neck is neatened with a collar-band and tabbed collar.
1916 Weldon's Pract. Needlework XXXI. No. 362. 4/2 Hem edges invisibly, making no turnings, and then neaten the outlines with some suitable stitchery.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §4/4 Arrange; Put in order; Clean up..neaten up.
1954 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Virginia) 11 Mar. 10/1 (heading) Shrubs and fences neaten up yards.
1970 ‘H. Pentecost’ Plague of Violence (1972) ii. ii. 92 If the killers had tried to neaten up the room after a struggle, they couldn't have put everything back in place just as it had been.
1972 Daily Tel. 27 May 9/7 Finally, pulling and weaving neatens the whole nest.
1990 ‘A. Cross’ Players come Again (1992) ii. 37 In the evenings..we neatened ourselves up for dinner.
2003 W. Gardiner Encycl. Sewing Techniques i. 15 The blades have a definite zigzag cutting edge that provides the ‘pinked’ cut used to neaten the raw edges on seams.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
v.1828