A salt of a fatty acid, saturated or unsaturated, containing at least eight carbon atoms or a mixture of such salts. A neat soap is a lamellar structure containing much (e.g. 75%) soap and little (e.g. 25%) water.
Source:
PAC, 1972, 31, 577. 'Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units, Appendix II: Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry' on page 612 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197231040577)