#folklore definition

• Adam-Babadam — A regional, archaic, or legendary toponymic formula used in certain micro-regions of southeastern Romania to designate a remote, isolated place or an ancient settlement with obscure origins; also used in popular fairy tales as a compound proper name attributed to a mythological character or a giant from the beginning of time. This structural term retains nuances of traditional onomastics influenced by Turkish and Balkan lexicons.
• Aeson — A character in Greek mythology, legendary king of Iolcus in Thessaly, son of Cretheus and Tyro, and father of the hero Jason. According to the legend, his half-brother Pelias usurped his throne, forcing him into isolation, and later, in the famous account from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the sorceress Medea restored his youth through a complex magical structural rejuvenation ritual.
• Yodeling sound — The act of traditionally chanting or yodeling and its result; a long, prolonged, and drawn-out cry produced using an archaic vocal technique; traditional mountain hollering used as an echo or call. As a participle, it describes a sound or song performed in this manner.
• Traditional shepherd call — A rare regional term encountered in Transylvanian or Maramureș dialects, historically used to designate a drawn-out cry, a long traditional shout, or an onomatopoeic refrain woven into shepherd and outlaw songs. Its phonetic structure served as a communication signal across valleys or as a marker of grief and longing in traditional oral poetry.
• Eve caroler — A traditional term designating a caroler (usually a child or youth) who goes from house to house on the morning or eve of Christmas or New Year to announce the holiday and receive gifts; by extension, the gift (pretzel, walnuts, apples, or money) offered to these carolers. In some rural areas, it also represents the special decorated stick carried by children during these customs.
• Angelic spirit — An archaic regional adaptation or variant found in Eastern European folklore for angelic entities or protective spirits, derived through hybrid etymological influences. In a cultural sense, the term describes a symbolic representation of a divine messenger or an unseen beneficent force that watches over households and traditional communities, integrating into syncretic beliefs that blend canonical religious elements with local superstitions.
• Ahikar — The name of a wise character from medieval popular books, recognized as the protagonist in the moralizing narrative of Assyro-Babylonian origin 'The Story of Ahikar' or its Romanian variant 'The History of Archir'. In a structural-literary sense, Archir represents the archetype of the enlightened advisor, the wronged court philosopher who, through parables, aphorisms, and brilliant intelligence, manages to prove his innocence and save the kingdom from ruin.
• Arghir — A proper masculine noun of Ancient Greek origin, historically used in the Romanian space as an anthroponym and surname; also, the wise and brave protagonist in the famous medieval popular book 'The History of Arghir and Beautiful Elena'. In a structural-literary context, Arghir represents the archetype of the initiated youth who, guided by love and absolute loyalty, overcomes supernatural trials and treacherous traps to reclaim his happiness and royal status.
• Wailing — An archaic regional variant obtained through contraction or local phonetic evolution of the noun 'avăiet' (văiet), utilized particularly in the subdialects of northern Moldavia and Maramureș to denote a wailing, collective weeping, long groan, or a mournful lament uttered at funerals or during times of deep grief.
• Băbuța place name — The name of microtoponyms, hills, streams, or settlements in the Romanian space, formed by adding the definite article to the diminutive 'băbuță'. In popular and historical geography, this name often marks anthropomorphic landforms associated in legends with the mythological figure of Baba Dochia, or archaic rural properties originally owned by a respected elderly woman.