napkin
n. countablen. a piece of cloth or paper used at meals for protecting your clothes and wiping your mouth and hands.
n. a square of fabric or paper used while eating to protect clothing and clean the lips or fingers.
Please use your napkin to wipe your hands.
The waiter placed a fresh linen napkin on the table before serving the main course.
In formal dining etiquette, one should place the napkin on their lap immediately upon sitting down and leave it loosely folded on the table at the end of the meal.
From Middle English napkyn, equivalent to nape (“cloth”) + -kin.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly referred to as a 'serviette' in British English, though 'napkin' is standard in North America.
Last updated May 8, 2026