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Where does the word "saliva" come from? It comes from Latin saliva, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
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Where does the word "saliva" come from? It comes from Latin saliva, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Saliva’s story begins in Latin: saliva meant “spit.” Possibly related to 'sal', salt. It reached English by 1400s as saliva. 'salivate' dates from the 1600s. Today, saliva means spit.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient saliva "spit", possibly related to 'sal', salt.
- Stage 2 · English · 1400s saliva "spit", 'salivate' dates from the 1600s.