#orientalism

• Agem — A historical and religious term used in medieval Romanian and ecclesiastical documents (originating from Arabic via Turkish) to designate a person of Persian (Iranian) origin; by cultural or geographic extension, the name referred to the Safavid Persian Empire, often in geopolitical competition with the Ottoman Empire, or to communities and luxury goods brought from those oriental regions.
• Almeh — A term historically applied (especially in Ottoman Egypt and the Middle East) to an educated woman who worked as a professional dancer, singer, and court poet, acts as a high-status courtesan reciting verses and providing artistic entertainment at private elite gatherings. In 19th-century literature, the term was adopted by Western Orientalist writers, frequently becoming loosely or mistakenly synonymous with belly dancing.
• Almeh variant — An archaic, corrupted, or regional phonetic variant for the noun 'almee' (almeh); a term utilized sporadically in old Orientalist literature or early translations to designate a professional female dancer, singer, and poet from Ottoman Egypt or the Middle East, known for entertaining the elites through recitations and elegant choreographies.
• Aman Allah — An exclamatory formula or invocation originating from the Islamic world, literally translated as 'God's mercy' or 'Lord, have mercy!'. In old Romanian literature, historical chronicles, and Balkan folklore, it was utilized to express a profound state of amazement, extreme fear, despair, or a desperate plea for protection from imminent danger.
• Arabic studies — A branch of Oriental studies that deals with the complex, scientific, and systematic study of the Arabic language, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and culture of Arabic-speaking peoples. This academic discipline provides the philological tools necessary to decipher the evolution of Islamic civilization and its historical links with European and global spheres.
• Lion — A noun of Turkish origin (arslan / aslan) literally meaning 'lion'. In the history of the Romanian and Balkan space, the term entered as a lexical loanword used either figuratively to denote a brave, strong, and courageous man, or as a proper name (first name or surname) borne by various historical figures and military commanders from neighboring empires, or assimilated into local onomastics.
• Babaic — An archaic and regional term of Oriental origin used to designate a father, a grandfather, or a respected old man, a head of a family, or a spiritual leader within a community. As an adjective, it describes qualities associated with this parental or patriarchal figure, suggesting wisdom, traditional authority, or a protective attitude, found in old documents from areas with direct Ottoman influence or in conservative dialects in the south and east of the country.
• Babas — A historical and regional term of Oriental nature, previously used to designate a respected father, an elderly uncle, or a legal guardian; by extension, it referred to an old, advisory man or the administrator of a small family estate. As an adjective, it describes patriarchal qualities, a protective yet strict behavior, primarily found in judicial charters or archaic testaments in regions under the legal or cultural influence of the Ottoman Empire.