Napkin

Napkin

Noun · /ˈnæp.kɪn/

Definition

A square piece of cloth or paper used at meals to wipe the fingers and lips; a serviette; (British) a nappy — an absorbent cloth or disposable covering for a baby.

Origin

From Old French nappe (tablecloth, cloth), from Latin mappa (napkin, cloth), with the diminutive suffix -kin (from Middle Dutch -kijn, a common diminutive suffix). The word appearing in English from the 15th century. Mappa in Latin meaning both a signal cloth (hence map: the cloth on which routes were drawn) and a table napkin. The same nappe giving English nape (possibly) and apron (from a napron, with the n- transferred from a napron to an apron). The serviette being the French-derived alternative term, sometimes considered more formal in British English.