napkin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈnæpˌkɪn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English napekin, nappekin,^[2][3][4][5] formed from nape (“tablecloth”), from Old French nape, nappe (“tablecloth, cloth, towel”),^[2][3][6][4] from Latin mappa (“napkin, small cloth”) (see map),^[3][6][4][7] and the diminutive suffix -kin.^[2][3][6][4] The change of Latin m to n was a tendency in Old French,^[6][8] and the Old French diminutive was naperon, the source of apron.^[6][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A square piece of linen used at meals to wipe the fingers or lips and protect the clothes (1384–85 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline; 1420 in the OED).^[3][6][10]

Semantic evolution

The word is no longer felt as a diminutive.^[6] From the 16th century it also meant a handkerchief (1530), now only in Scotland and northern England,^[10][11] and a small towel (1687).^[10] In Bible translations it rendered Greek soudárion (1526),^[10] and the old verb to napkin meant to wrap up or hide away (1621).^[10][12] From 1845 a napkin was also a baby's undergarment,^[10] which in Britain is now usually called a nappy,^[7] and in American use the word also means a sanitary napkin.^[2][4][11]

Timeline

• 1384–85 – a table napkin.^[3]
• 1526 – rendering Greek soudárion.^[10]
• 1530 – a handkerchief.^[10]
• 1621 – verb, to hide away.^[10]
• 1845 – a baby's nappy.^[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A piece of cloth or absorbent paper used at table to protect the clothes and to wipe the lips and fingers; a serviette.
2. A small cloth or towel.
3. A sanitary napkin.
4. (chiefly British) A baby's diaper or nappy.
5. (Scotland, northern England) A handkerchief.

Word family

• napkin ring
• sanitary napkin

Related words

• map
• apron
• napery
• nappy
• serviette

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
12. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster