Meanings
plural napkins
- A serviette; a (usually rectangular) piece of cloth or paper used at the table for wiping the mouth and hands for cleanliness while eating.
- A small scarf worn on the head by Christian women (chiefly Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) when entering a church, as a token of modesty.
- PhilippinesabbreviationdatedellipsisEllipsis of sanitary napkin.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna small piece of table linen that is used to wipe the mouth and to cover the lap in order to protect clothing
noungarment consisting of a folded cloth drawn up between the legs and fastened at the waist; worn by infants to catch excrement
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishnapekyn
- Englishnapkin
From Middle English napekyn, napkyn, equivalent to nape (“cloth”) + -kin (diminutive suffix).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek χειρόμακτρον
- χειρόμακτρον (kheirómaktron)serviette
Arabic مَنْدِيل, مَنْدِيل مَائِدَة
- مَنْدِيل (mandīl)serviette
- مَنْدِيل مَائِدَة (mandīl māʔida)serviette
Bengali ন্যাপকিন, রুমাল
- ন্যাপকিন (nêpokin)serviette
- রুমাল (rumal)serviette
Bulgarian салфе́тка
- салфе́тка (salfétka)serviette
Catalan tovalló, torcaboques
- tovallóserviette
- torcaboquesserviette
Chinese Mandarin 餐巾, 餐巾紙 /餐巾纸
- 餐巾 (cānjīn)serviette
- 餐巾紙 /餐巾纸 (cānjīnzhǐ)serviette
- 圍巾 /围巾 (wéijīn)scarf
Czech ubrousek, servítek
- ubrousekserviette
- servítekserviette
Danish serviet
- servietserviette
Dutch servet
- servetserviette
Esperanto buŝtuko
- buŝtukoserviette
Estonian salvrätik, salvrätt
- salvrätikserviette
- salvrättserviette
- salfrätikserviette
- salfrättserviette
- salfakasserviette
Finnish lautasliina, servetti
- lautasliinaserviette
- servettiserviette
- serviettiserviette
- huiviscarf
French serviette
- servietteserviette
German Serviette, Mundtuch
- Servietteserviette
- Mundtuchserviette
Hebrew מַפִּית
- מַפִּית (mapít)serviette
Hindi नैपकिन, रूमाल
- नैपकिन (naipkin)serviette
- रूमाल (rūmāl)serviette
Hungarian szalvéta, asztalkendő
- szalvétaserviette
- asztalkendőserviette
- sálscarf
Icelandic servíetta, munnþurrka
- servíettaserviette
- munnþurrkaserviette
Indonesian serbet
- serbetserviette
Italian tovagliolo, salvietta
- tovaglioloserviette
- salviettaserviette
Japanese ナプキン
- ナプキン (napukin)serviette
Korean 냅킨
- 냅킨 (naepkin)serviette
Latin mappa, mantele
- mappaserviette
- manteleserviette
- orariumserviette
Latvian salvete, servjete
- salveteserviette
- servjeteserviette
Lithuanian servetėlė
- servetėlėserviette
Malay serbet
- serbetserviette
Norwegian Bokmål serviett
- serviettserviette
Polish serwetka
- serwetkaserviette
Portuguese guardanapo
- guardanaposerviette
Romanian șervețel
- șervețelserviette
Russian салфе́тка, шарф
- салфе́тка (salfétka)serviette
- шарф (šarf)scarf
- шаль (šalʹ)scarf
Scottish Gaelic nèapraig, nèapaigin
- nèapraigserviette
- nèapaiginserviette
Slovak obrúsok, servítka
- obrúsokserviette
- servítkaserviette
Spanish servilleta, toballeta (disused)
- servilletaserviette
- toballeta (disused)serviette
- toalletaserviette
Swedish servett
- servettserviette
Tagalog serbilyeta
- serbilyetaserviette
Thai ผ้าเช็ดปาก
- ผ้าเช็ดปาก (pâa-chét-bpàak)serviette
Turkish peçete
- peçeteserviette
Ukrainian серве́тка
- серве́тка (servétka)serviette
Urdu نَیپْکِن, رُومال
- نَیپْکِن (naipkin)serviette
- رُومال (rūmāl)serviette
- دَسْت مال (dast māl)serviette
Vietnamese khăn ăn
- khăn ănserviette
Welsh napcyn
- napcynserviette
Yiddish סערוועטקע
- סערוועטקע (servetke)serviette
Cite this entry
napkin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/napkin
“napkin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/napkin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “napkin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/napkin.
Source: napkin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.