A napkin, serviette or face towelette is a rectangle of cloth used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers while eating. It is usually small and folded, sometimes in intricate designs and shapes. The word comes from Middle English, borrowing the French nappe—a cloth covering for a table—and adding -kin, the diminutive suffix.


"Serviette" can be heard in the United Kingdom, Ireland, some parts of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and South Africa. In Australia and New Zealand, "serviette" generally refers to the paper variety and "napkin" refers to the cloth variety. The same distinction is used in Canada although "paper napkin" may be used interchangeably with "serviette".

In the UK, the term "napkin" is traditionally "U" (upper-class) and "serviette" is "non-U".