napkin: [15] Latin mappa meant ‘cloth’ (it is the source of English map). As it passed into Old French its m became transformed into an n, producing nappe. This was borrowed into English as the long-defunct nape ‘cloth’, which, with the addition of the diminutive suffix -kin, has bequeathed napkin to modern English. The abbreviation nappy dates from the early 20th century. From derivatives of Old French nappe English also gets apron and napery [14]. => apron, map
napkin (n.)
late 14c., "a table napkin," from nape "a tablecloth" (from Old French nape "tablecloth, cloth cover, towel," from Latin mappa; see map (n.)) + Middle English -kin "little." No longer felt as a diminutive. The Old French diminutive was naperon (see apron). The shift of Latin -m- to -n- was a tendency in Old French (conter from computare, printemps from primum, natte "mat, matting," from matta). Middle English also had naperie "linen objects; sheets, tablecloths, napkins, etc.;" also, "place where the linens are kept."
实用例句
1. He wiped away the blood with a paper napkin.
他用纸巾将血迹擦去。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Michael mopped up quickly with his napkin.
迈克尔迅速用餐巾将其揩干。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He dabbed at his lips with the napkin.
他用餐巾拭了拭嘴唇。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Mary Ann tore the edge off her napkin.
玛丽·安撕掉了餐巾的边儿。
来自柯林斯例句
5. He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin.
