saliva
sa·li·va/səˈlaɪvə/noun, verb
saliva is spelled S-A-L-I-V-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables (sa·li·va). It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, saliva means “A clear, slightly alkaline liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands, consisting of water, mucin, protein, and enzymes.…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of saliva is salivas or salivae.
How many letters and syllables are in saliva?
| Letters | 6: S-A-L-I-V-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sa·li·va |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is saliva?
Saliva appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce saliva?
- /səˈlaɪvə/
Saliva has 3 syllables, split sa·li·va in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-saliva.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with saliva?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as saliva.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: salvia.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of saliva
- salivas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- salivae plural
- salivæ plural
- salivaing participle, present
- salivaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does saliva mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
verb
- 1
nonstandardto salivate
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Saliva in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense liquid secreted into the mouth:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does saliva come 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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).