saliva
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.
Synonyms
- spit
A kind of
- secretion
Kinds of saliva
- tobacco juice
Related words
- salival
- salivaless
- salivalike
- salivant
- salivatory
- salivous
- sea saliva
- saliva ejector
- saliva gland
- saliva test
- salivary
- salivate
Word history
From Middle English "salive".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “saliva” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.