saliva
/səˈlaɪvə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.35 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
to salivate
name
Alternative form of Saliba (“language”).
Etymology
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).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: salive, *salw-
Usage
Inflected Forms
salivas (plural)
salivae (plural)
salivæ (plural)
salivas (present, singular)
salivaing (participle, present)
salivaed (participle, past)
salivaed (past)