serviette vs. napkin (2024)

We have at least one bit of evidence that some BE speakers say 'serviette'.

I wipe my mouth with a serviette.

Rover

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You've opened something of a can of worms, reka, at least for BrE speakers

I, personally, use serviette for the paper variety, and napkin for the linen one.

But I still remember the scandalised look on the face of a rather posh acquaintance when I used the word serviette once in a conversation with him. It is, you see, one of those words considered

to mark the speaker out as irretrievably "lower middle class".

(For more on language and snobbery, see this Wiki article on "U and non-U")

Loob said:

You've opened something of a can of worms, reka, at least for BrE speakers

I, personally, use serviette for the paper variety, and napkin for the linen one.

But I still remember the scandalised look on the face of a rather posh acquaintance when I used the word serviette once in a conversation with him. It is, you see, one of those words considered

by some

to mark the speaker out as irretrievably "lower middle class".

(For more on language and snobbery, see this Wiki article on "U and non-U")

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It wasn't my intention to cause this "faux pas".

Loob said:

You've opened something of a can of worms, reka, at least for BrE speakers

I, personally, use serviette for the paper variety, and napkin for the linen one.

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I fully agree with Mrs.Loob.

kalamazoo said:

In the US, they're all napkins and we don't have any serviettes. Should there be a need to distinguish the type of napkins, one can say "cloth napkin" or "paper napkin." At least this is true in my dialect of AmE.

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That's how I'd say it!

I agree with Loob in post #5, certainly amongst those who are snobbish amongst British English speakers have used "napkin" and "serviette" to distinguish U from non-U.

But these terms are always shifting, in fact it is a game to know what is the 'proper' term to use to mark oneself out as U as opposed to non-U.

Is it a lavatory or a toilet? Guess your 'class' from your answer.

pickarooney said:

it was positively decadent to even have such a thing

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Do you mean paper ones, cloth ones, or anything at all to wipe your mush with?

In my petit-bourgeois childhood home, we called the linen/cotton ones serviettes. I understand that this is the "non-U" (not upper class) term.

We didn't use paper ones because they cost money to replace: the cloth ones just went in the wash from time to time.

You little ripper! said:

What about those of us who just use a tissue or a square of toilet paper?

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natkretep said:

I've never seen anyone using a loo roll at the table!

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You clearly don’t rub shoulders with the piss-elegant, nat!

For me the difference is this: A napkin is a word everyone understands and a serviette is one that almost no one understands. [USA]

I would not use "serviette" because it would not be understood (and I would not want to be "non-U"**)

Difference Between Napkin and Serviette | Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Both these words napkin and serviette basically refers to a square piece of cloth/paper we use at a meal to wipe the fingers or lips and to protect garments. In the US, the word napkin is more commonly used than serviette, which is rarely used. In the UK, napkin is a traditionally upper-class word, and serviette is a ‘non-U’ (middle class) word.

**"Non-U" would likewise not be understood in the USA.

You little ripper! said:

What about those of us who just use a tissue or a square of toilet paper?

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<Cue Four Yorkshiremen>

I've never heard anyone use the word serviette other than in high school French class. The object under your fork at the table is a napkin, whether it is cloth or paper. I understand, though, that the paper napkin industry has been suffering because millennials are using paper towels from a roll instead.

S. English speaker said:

A serviette is a paper napkin. A napkin is made of material.

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You left out the first part of the first sentence: "Some people claim that ..." (But paper, is, of course, a material.)

Packard said:

**"Non-U" would likewise not be understood in the USA.

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There are a

of Britishfolk who wouldn't know what you were talking about either.
Apparently, Mr Ripper, there are now some Britishfolk so dainty that they use towelettes in their dunnies, presumably for wiping their facettes.