saliva

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saliva^¹

/səˈlaɪvə/

Rhymes with -aɪvə

Where it comes from

A learned borrowing from Latin salīva (“spittle”), replacing or merging with Middle English salive, salve (“saliva”), from the same Latin source. Further origin uncertain. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *salw-, *sal- (“dirt, dirty”), cognate with Old English salu (“dark, dusky”). More at sallow.

Displaced Middle English slaver, slavere ("saliva"; whence Modern English slaver); and Middle English spyttle, spetel, spatel, spotel ("saliva"; whence Modern English spittle, spettle, spattle).

noun salivas · salivae · salivæ

countable, uncountable A clear, slightly alkaline liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands, consisting of water, mucin, protein, and enzymes. It moistens the mouth, lubricates ingested food, and begins the breakdown of starches.
Similar: spit, spittle, slobber, drool

verb salivas · salivaing · salivaed

nonstandard to salivate

Saliva^²

proper noun

alternative Alternative form of Saliba (“language”).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: spittle, spit, gland, respiratory, sputum, testosterone, salivary, breath, salivation, oryza, slaver, slobber, dribble, drool, foam, spit-up

Translations

Every language

noun liquid secreted into the mouth

Español	saliva
한국어	침 chim
日本語	唾, 唾液 daeki
中文	口水 kǒushuǐ, 唾液 tuòyè, 唾沫 tuòmo, 口涎 kǒuxián, 涎水 xiánshuǐ, 吐沫 tùmo
हिन्दी	लार lār, राल rāl
Kiswahili	mate
Português	saliva
Français	salive
Deutsch	Speichel
Italiano	saliva
Ελληνικά	σίελος síelos, σάλιο sálio
Română	salivă
Русский	слюна́ sljuná, слю́нка sljúnka
Tiếng Việt	nước bọt, nước miếng, nước dãi
العربية	لُعَاب luʕāb, رِيق rīq, بُزَاق buzāq
עברית	רוק, רֹק rok

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Cite this

MLA

"saliva." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/saliva. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

saliva. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/saliva

Chicago

"saliva." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/saliva.

BibTeX

@misc{saliva_2026,
  title = {saliva},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/saliva},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}