The word 'saliva' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to the watery/viscous fluid produced by the salivary glands in the mouth. For example: "He felt the salty taste of his saliva in his mouth as he yawned."
It did, however, contrive to make global headlines, earning the defender the nickname "Llama" in honour of the South American camelid's prodigious ability for hurling projectiles manufactured from saliva.
The advert in question was for butter and featured both men sporting wide grins, cream dressing gowns and their trademark (but mercifully saliva free) curly hairstyles while seated at the breakfast table.
Even Jesus was in on it, using his saliva to give a blind man sight.
He is fascinated by seamy details, describing lovemaking just so he can get to the dribble of saliva flowing from a lover's mouth the next morning ("A Parisian Affair", 1881), or envisioning a barroom as an expressionist horror: "They wriggled their bellies and shook their bosoms, spreading about them the powerful smell of female flesh in sweat.
Throughout history people have used saliva to anoint, to charm, to protect.
We have discovered that information on heart rate gives helpful data on mental strain, and that cortisol readings from saliva are valuable as an objective happiness and stress indicator.
How the disease spreads Ebola is not an airborne disease and can only be spread from human to human through close contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has the disease – in blood, vomit, semen, urine, tears or saliva.
Some 500,000 people have volunteered their medical history to Biobank and provided blood, urine and saliva samples.
They measured the amount of testosterone in their subjects' saliva.
As the monarchy is alive and well and likely to last for many decades more, constitutional reform will clearly have to take place without the removal of Elizabeth II or her heirs.Robin Hardy Mells SomersetMoose talkSIR – I was perplexed that the article on elk saliva was accompanied by a photo of a moose ("A biting response", June 8th).
This breathalyser, designed for roadside use by police, will scan suspects' saliva for drugs such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin.There may be an even faster method, however and one that avoids fiddling with electromagnets.
