#Romanian folklore

• Woman from the Arieș Valley — A woman or girl originating from the region known as the Arieș Valley, located in the Apuseni Mountains, Transylvania, Romania, or a female inhabitant of the settlements along this river. In an ethnographic context, the term characterizes the affiliation of a female individual to the Moți communities within the Arieș drainage basin, historically recognized for their specific traditions, folklore, and traditional dress.
• May Day custom — A regional variant for the popular feast of Arminden, traditionally celebrated on May 1st in the Romanian cultural space; a symbolic day marking the beginning of the agricultural summer, the protection of crops and cattle against evil spirits, characterized by the ritual of placing a green branch (bearing the same name) at gates or houses.
• Knucklebone — A small, short, and hard bone from the hind leg joints of small horned animals (astragalus), historically used by children and adults as a basic piece in a traditional game of chance and skill that bears its name. Each of the four long faces of the bone has a specific name and scoring value (such as blank, notch, king, or janissary), and the game's objective is to throw and flip the pieces according to popular rules.
• Knucklebone player — A person who plays with knucklebones, a craftsman who collects, processes, or sells these small bones from the leg joints of sheep or goats, or, in an extended sense, a highly skilled and passionate player of this archaic game of chance and skill. In past rural communities, the arșicar was often the one who best knew the complex scoring rules and who owned special pieces, filled with lead for increased stability during throwing.
• Small lowland vineyard — A diminutive, regional, and affectionate form derived from the noun 'arvă', used in popular dialects to denote a small grapevine plantation situated on flat land near the household or a shorter, simpler variant of the homonymous traditional folk dance, usually danced by children or youth at village gatherings.
• Thorny shrub — A rare regional name used in certain microtoponyms and dialects of southern Romania to denote a wild shrub, a variety of bramble, or a degraded form of dwarf maple growing in calcareous and arid areas. The term is sometimes used by old rural communities to describe thorny bushes used for the natural demarcation of boundaries or fields.
• To compare — An archaic and regional form of the verb 'a asemăna'; to place two or more people, objects, or concepts side by side to establish their common points, analogies, or structural differences. As a reflexive verb, it represents the action of becoming identical or very close in form, behavior, or traits to someone or something else.
• So — A regional and popular form for the adverb 'așa'; in this manner, in this way, likewise. It is widely used in the Transylvanian, Banat, and Maramureș dialects to express confirmation, modality, or intensity of a state, retaining a strong identity value in folklore and regional colloquial speech.
• House blessing — A regional and archaic phonetic variant of the word 'sfeștanie'; it represents the Orthodox religious service for the blessing of water (the lesser sanctification), as well as the sprinkling of houses, yards, or believers with this holy water for spiritual cleansing. This delicate structural ritual is performed by the priest with the purpose of warding off evil spirits, purifying the household, and bringing harmony and health to the family members.
• To set — A regional or archaic phonetic variant for the subjunctive or present indicative forms of the verb 'a asfinți'; it describes the action whereby the sun, moon, or another celestial body sinks below the horizon, disappearing from view and marking the beginning of the night. This structural term is found in popular lyrical creations or ancient speech, adding a poetic and delicate nuance to the concept of twilight.
• Little donkey — A diminutive, affectionate, or popular form used to designate a young donkey or a small-sized ass. In popular fairy tales and regional refined literature, this structural term portrays the animal in a positive, delicate light, highlighting its gentleness, patience, attachment to the household, or utility in small domestic labors.
• Restharrow — Popular Romanian compound name attributed to certain herbaceous plant species from the genus Ononis (resharrow) or ferns, characterized by glandular secreting hairs or a damp, sticky appearance of the leaves. In empirical folk medicine, the roots and stalks of this plant were used in infusions to treat renal ailments and stimulate diuresis.
• Dear elder — An archaic and regional diminutive form derived from the term 'auș', used to denote a sweet old man, a wise elder, or, in popular ornithological slang, a kinglet (a very small bird). In Romanian mythological beliefs, the term refers to a protective family presence, an ancestral spirit of grandfathers or great-grandfathers affectionately evoked in rural communities.
• The female demon — The definite articulated form of the noun 'avestiță', which in Romanian popular mythology (especially in the folklore of mountainous regions and Oltenia) denotes an evil spirit, a female demon, or a wicked witch, often described as a hideous apparition with long hair and iron claws, wandering through forests or at crossroads; according to legends, this malevolent entity attacks young children, steals their sleep, or causes severe illness to women in childbirth, traditionally countered through charms, herbal amulets, and magical formulas of banishment.
• Babalear — A rare regional term used in certain rural dialects to designate a traditional folk dance or a festive street carnival gathering, specific to winter holidays or spring rituals. In these folkloric events, participants wear grotesque anthropomorphic masks (usually mocking the village elders) and perform jerky, jumping, rhythmic movements meant to symbolically drive away evil spirits, cold weather, and winter.
• Babareasca — A rare regional term used in certain Romanian rural communities to designate an elderly woman who performs a specific traditional role, such as an empirical midwife, folk healer, or organizer of feminine folkloric rituals. Additionally, the term can be utilized as an archaic form of ethnic or geographical identification, referring to a woman of Bavarian origin or from a specific historical region, phonetically adapted into local dialects.