A napkin, serviette or face towelette is a square of cloth or paper tissue used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers while eating. It is also sometimes used as a bib by tucking it into a shirt collar. It is usually small and folded, sometimes in intricate designs and shapes.

Etymology and terminology

The term 'napkin' dates from the 14th century, in the sense of a piece of cloth or paper used at mealtimes to wipe the lips or fingers and to protect clothing. The word derives from the Late Middle English ''nappekin'', from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th nappe'' (tablecloth, from Latin">:wikt:nappe#French">nappe'' (tablecloth, from mappa is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo (formerly in Suginami, Tokyo). Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including '' Terror in Resonance'', '' Yuri!!! on I ...

''), with the suffix '' -kin''. A 'napkin' can also refer to a small cloth or towel, such as a :wikt:-kin#English">-kin''. A 'napkin' can also refer to a small cloth or towel, such as a handkerchief in dialectal British, or a kerchief">handkerchief">:wikt:-kin#English">-kin''. A 'napkin' can also refer to a small cloth or towel, such as a handkerchief in dialectal British, or a kerchief in Scotland. 'Napkin' may also be short for "sanitary napkin".

Description

Conventionally, the napkin is folded and placed to the left of the place setting, outside the outermost fork. In a restaurant setting or a caterer's hall, it may be folded into more elaborate shapes and displayed on the empty plate. Origami techniques can be used to create a three-dimensional design. A napkin may also be held together in a bundle with cutlery by a napkin ring. Alternatively, paper napkins may be contained within a napkin holder.

History

Summaries of napkin history often say that the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

used bread to wipe their hands. This is suggested by a passage in one of Alciphron's letters (3:44), and some remarks by the sausage seller in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

' play, '' The Knights''. The bread in both texts is referred to as ''apomagdalia'' which simply means bread from inside the crust known as ''the crumb'' and not special "napkin bread". Napkins were also used in

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

times. One of the earliest references to table napkins in English dates to 1384–85.

Paper napkins

The use of paper napkins is documented in

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, where paper was invented in the 2nd century BC. Paper napkins were known as ''chih pha'', folded in squares, and used for the serving of tea. Textual evidence of paper napkins appears in a description of the possessions of the Yu family, from the city of

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

. Paper napkins were first imported to the US in the late 1800s but did not gain widespread acceptance until 1948, when

Emily Post Emily Post ( Price; October 27, 1872 – September 25, 1960) was an American author, novelist, and socialite famous for writing about etiquette. Early life and education Post was born Emily Bruce Price in Baltimore, Maryland, possibly in Octob ...

asserted, "It’s far better form to use paper napkins than linen napkins that were used at breakfast."

Leonardo Da Vinci

It has been claimed that

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

invented the napkin in 1491. According to this claim, the Duke of Milan,

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

, used to tie up live rabbits decorated with ribbons to the guest’s chairs so they could wipe their hands on the animal’s back. Leonardo found this inappropriate, and presented a cloth for each guest. The myth stems from ''Leonardo's Kitchen Notebooks'' (1987), by Jonathan Routh and Shelagh Routh, a prank book published as an April Fools’ Day joke, that claims a long lost Codex Romanoff was found in 1481, which never really existed.

References

External links

{{Authority control Serving and dining Linens Paper products