From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnapkinnap‧kin /ˈnæpkɪn/ noun [countable] 1 DFUa square piece of cloth or paper used for protecting your clothes and for cleaning your hands and lips during a meal SYN serviette2 DCBMDa sanitary pad
Examples from the Corpus
napkin• They can be neatly eaten with your hands-sometimes a napkin isn't even needed!• White tablecloths and black napkins rolled and tucked with white paper napkins for a tuxedo appeal can only do so much.• Flora put her napkin on the table and left the room.• Her napkin was of pure silk with a neatly monogrammed corner.• Ralph could only ogle, though, helpless with envy, as Grover baIled up his napkin.• I just took my napkin, filled it with all the coins I had won and tied the corners into a knot.• Luks would shout, drinking and sketching wildly on napkins, tablecloths, menus.• Thallium àlamode de Wimbledon, served in a little china pot with a spray of basil and a clean table napkin.Origin napkin (1600-1700) nape “cloth” ((1400-1500)), from Old French, from Latin mappa; → MAP1 