napkin

From Middle English napekyn or napkyn, formed from nape, meaning 'cloth,' plus the diminutive suffix -kin. So the word simply means a little piece of cloth.

The facts show no shift in meaning beyond its original sense — it began as 'small cloth' and that's essentially what a napkin still is today.

The -kin ending here is the same diminutive suffix found in words like 'lambkin' or 'bumpkin,' marking something small.