siekalas

 siekalas on Latvian Wikipedia

From the same stem as slieka (“earthworm”) (q.v.), with dissimilation (*sliekalas > siekalas); note dialectal forms like sliekas (“saliva”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“slimy, slippery, glide”).^[1]

The synonymous word slienas comes also from the same stem, but with an extra n instead of an extra k.^[2]

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siekalas f (4th declension)

1. (usually in the plural) saliva (secretions of the glands in the mouth)

   siekalu dziedzeri ― salivary glands

   siekalu pilieni ― saliva drops

   siekalas saskrien mutē ― saliva is flowing to (one's) mouth

   izspļaut siekalas ― to spit out saliva

   siekalas tek ― saliva is flowing (= one wants something very much)

   siekalas samitrina sauso uzturu un noskalo no mutes gļotādas kaitīgās un liekās vielas ― saliva moistens the dry food and washes away harmful substances from the mouth surface

A nominative singular form siekala exists but is only sporadically attested.

• slienas
• spļāviens

• siekaļot, siekaļoties