Meanings
saliva1
plural salivas · plural salivae · plural salivæ
present singular third person salivas · participle present salivaing · participle past salivaed · past salivaed
- nonstandardto salivate
Saliva2
- alternativeAlternative form of Saliba (“language”).
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA 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.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*salw-
- Middle Englishsalive
- Latinsalīva“spittle”
- Englishsaliva
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).
More words from Latin, Middle English, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans speeksel
- speekselliquid secreted into the mouth
Ancient Greek σίαλον
- σίαλον (síalon)liquid secreted into the mouth
Arabic لُعَاب, رِيق
- لُعَاب (luʕāb)liquid secreted into the mouth
- رِيق (rīq)liquid secreted into the mouth
- بُزَاق (buzāq)liquid secreted into the mouth
Basque listu
- listuliquid secreted into the mouth
Bengali লালা, থুতু
- লালা (lala)liquid secreted into the mouth
- থুতু (thutu)liquid secreted into the mouth
Bulgarian слю́нка, плю́нка
- слю́нка (sljúnka)liquid secreted into the mouth
- плю́нка (pljúnka)liquid secreted into the mouth
Catalan saliva
- salivaliquid secreted into the mouth
Chinese Cantonese 口水
- 口水 (hau² seoi²)liquid secreted into the mouth
Chinese Mandarin 口水, 唾液
- 口水 (kǒushuǐ)liquid secreted into the mouth
- 唾液 (tuòyè)liquid secreted into the mouth
- 唾沫 (tuòmo)liquid secreted into the mouth
- 口涎 (kǒuxián)liquid secreted into the mouth
- 涎水 (xiánshuǐ)liquid secreted into the mouth
- 吐沫 (tùmo)liquid secreted into the mouth
Czech slina
- slinaliquid secreted into the mouth
Danish spyt
- spytliquid secreted into the mouth
Dutch speeksel
- speekselliquid secreted into the mouth
Esperanto salivo
- salivoliquid secreted into the mouth
Estonian sülg
- sülgliquid secreted into the mouth
Finnish sylki
- sylkiliquid secreted into the mouth
French salive
- saliveliquid secreted into the mouth
German Speichel
- Speichelliquid secreted into the mouth
Greek σίελος, σάλιο
- σίελος (síelos)liquid secreted into the mouth
- σάλιο (sálio)liquid secreted into the mouth
Hebrew רוק, רֹק
- רוקliquid secreted into the mouth
- רֹק (rok)liquid secreted into the mouth
Hindi लार, राल
- लार (lār)liquid secreted into the mouth
- राल (rāl)liquid secreted into the mouth
Hungarian nyál
- nyálliquid secreted into the mouth
Icelandic slef, munnvatn
- slefliquid secreted into the mouth
- munnvatnliquid secreted into the mouth
Indonesian air ludah, air liur
- air ludahliquid secreted into the mouth
- air liurliquid secreted into the mouth
- ludahliquid secreted into the mouth
- liurliquid secreted into the mouth
Irish seile
- seileliquid secreted into the mouth
Italian saliva
- salivaliquid secreted into the mouth
Japanese 唾, 唾液
- 唾liquid secreted into the mouth
- 唾液 (daeki)liquid secreted into the mouth
Korean 침
- 침 (chim)liquid secreted into the mouth
Latin salīva
- salīvaliquid secreted into the mouth
Latvian siekalas
- siekalasliquid secreted into the mouth
Lithuanian seilės
- seilėsliquid secreted into the mouth
Māori hāware, hūare
- hāwareliquid secreted into the mouth
- hūareliquid secreted into the mouth
- hūwareliquid secreted into the mouth
- parakiliquid secreted into the mouth
Norwegian Bokmål spytt
- spyttliquid secreted into the mouth
Polish ślina
- ślinaliquid secreted into the mouth
Portuguese saliva
- salivaliquid secreted into the mouth
Punjabi ਰਾਲ਼, رال
- ਰਾਲ਼ (rāḷ)liquid secreted into the mouth
- رال (rāl)liquid secreted into the mouth
Romanian salivă
- salivăliquid secreted into the mouth
Russian слюна́, слю́нка
- слюна́ (sljuná)liquid secreted into the mouth
- слю́нка (sljúnka)liquid secreted into the mouth
Scottish Gaelic seile
- seileliquid secreted into the mouth
Slovak slina
- slinaliquid secreted into the mouth
Spanish saliva
- salivaliquid secreted into the mouth
Swahili mate
- mateliquid secreted into the mouth
Swedish spott, saliv
- spottliquid secreted into the mouth
- salivliquid secreted into the mouth
Tagalog lura, laway
- luraliquid secreted into the mouth
- lawayliquid secreted into the mouth
Tamil உமிழ்நீர், எச்சில்
- உமிழ்நீர் (umiḻnīr)liquid secreted into the mouth
- எச்சில் (eccil)liquid secreted into the mouth
- எச்சை (eccai)liquid secreted into the mouth
Thai น้ำลาย
- น้ำลาย (náam-laai)liquid secreted into the mouth
Turkish salya, tükürük
- salyaliquid secreted into the mouth
- tükürükliquid secreted into the mouth
Ukrainian сли́на
- сли́на (slýna)liquid secreted into the mouth
Urdu لار, رال
- لار (lār)liquid secreted into the mouth
- رال (rāl)liquid secreted into the mouth
Vietnamese nước bọt, nước miếng
- nước bọtliquid secreted into the mouth
- nước miếngliquid secreted into the mouth
- nước dãiliquid secreted into the mouth
Welsh poer
- poerliquid secreted into the mouth
Yiddish שפּײַעכץ
- שפּײַעכץ (shpayekhts)liquid secreted into the mouth
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with saliva
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
saliva. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saliva
“saliva.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saliva. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saliva,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saliva.
Source: saliva on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.