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Napkin
 
 
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A napkin or serviette is a rectangle of cloth or paper
Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
 used at the table
Table (furniture)

A table is a item of furniture comprising a surface supported by a base or legs. It may be used to hold articles such as food at a convenient or comfortable height when sitting, and is therefore often used in conjunction with chairs....
 for wiping the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 while eating
Eating

In general terms, eating is the process of consuming food to provide for the nutritional needs of an animal, particularly their food energy requirements and to growth....
. It is usually small and folded. The word comes from Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
, borrowing the French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 nappe—a cloth covering for a table—and adding -kin, the diminutive suffix.

The word serviette in lieu of term napkin is not typically used in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, but in Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 the two terms are interchangeable.

Conventionally, the napkin is folded and placed to the left of the place setting, outside the outermost fork
Fork

As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow Tine on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent....
.






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A napkin or serviette is a rectangle of cloth or paper
Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
 used at the table
Table (furniture)

A table is a item of furniture comprising a surface supported by a base or legs. It may be used to hold articles such as food at a convenient or comfortable height when sitting, and is therefore often used in conjunction with chairs....
 for wiping the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
 while eating
Eating

In general terms, eating is the process of consuming food to provide for the nutritional needs of an animal, particularly their food energy requirements and to growth....
. It is usually small and folded. The word comes from Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
, borrowing the French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 nappe—a cloth covering for a table—and adding -kin, the diminutive suffix.

The word serviette in lieu of term napkin is not typically used in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, but in Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 the two terms are interchangeable.

Conventionally, the napkin is folded and placed to the left of the place setting, outside the outermost fork
Fork

As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow Tine on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent....
. In an ambitious restaurant
Restaurant

A restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery ....
 setting or a caterer
Catering

Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site....
's hall, it may be folded into more or less elaborate shapes and displayed on the empty plate. A napkin may also be held together in a bundle (with cutlery) by a napkin ring
Napkin ring

The napkin ring, sometimes called serviette ring, was originally used to identify the napkins of a household between weekly wash days. The standard napkin ring is a simple ring made from skewers....
. Alternatively, paper napkins may be contained with a napkin holder
Napkin holder

A napkin holder is a tool used to hold napkin. A napkin holder can be made from virtually any solid material and is built so that the napkins pressed between two or more surfaces and do not slip from their hold....
.

Great inventions or ideas are stereotypically first conceived on a paper napkin. An example of such an idea is J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a Heptalogy fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous adolescent wizard Harry Potter , together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry....
 series.

"Napkin Engineering" was also the name of a small industrial company in Nova Scotia, Canada. They were best know for producing very high quality naval chains and steam driven bilge water pumping machines.

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