serviette

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
He glanced inquiringly at the window before he removed his serviette, and resumed his meal.

View all »
Examples (50)

  • He could sketch out a circuit diagram for an optical burglar alarm on a serviette, and he reprogrammed cell phones. —  AHMM,July-August2008
  • Flaubert maintained that an author should only write for about twenty persons, unless he simply wrote for himself, "like a bourgeois turning his serviette-rings round in his attic." —  George Sand, Some Aspects of Her Life and Writings
  • It also meant that a previous passenger's used cup and serviette were unpleasantly lurking on our seat when we arrived for our flight. —  Epinions Recent Content for Home
  • When I found out it was only Jemmy's finger, I was nearly off my 'ed with joy I'll go and tell her," interrupted Mr. Bob Wheeler, delicately, using the inside edge of the table-cloth as a serviette. —  A Master Of Craft
  • She told me all her husband could eat and couldn't eat; she called her children 'little tots,' and said she couldn't get so much as a 'serviette' washed in the house. —  Penny Plain
More examples »
 

Tags

serviette hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 57 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French serviete, perhaps from servir, to serve; see serve.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French serviette, Old French serviette = Spanish servilleta = Italian salvieta, a napkin: origin uncertain, the forms being discordant and apparently in part perverted. (a) In one view, orig. Italian, salvieta, ‘that which preserves one's garments from soiling,’ from salvare, preserve, save (see save), being in F. conformed to servir, serve. (b) In another view (Diez), orig. F., serviette, for *servitette, with diminutive -ette, from Old French servit (= Provencal servit = Italian servito), past participle of servir, serve: see serve. (c) Orig. F., serviette, directly from servir, serve (cf. scrviable, serviceable), + -ette. None of these explanations is free from difficulties.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/sɛrvɪˈɛt/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a year.

Recently looked up

opted · deal · alphabet · appetite · lonely

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

ultimatum · pew · deadpool · sad panda · nom nom nom