Etymology

From Mongolic silükei ~ šilükei "saliva", from Proto-Mongolic *sil- ‎(“saliva; mucus; wet”).

Note that the s-/š- variation at the beginning (compare шеләгәй) go back to the diachronous variation within Mongolic.

Cognate with Tuvan шилегей ‎(šïlägäy), Khakas сілегей ‎(sílegey), Crimean Tatar silekiy, Kazakh сілекей ‎(silekey, “saliva”), etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hɪ̞.læ.ˈɡæj]
• Hyphenation: һе‧лә‧гәй