Learn Romanian › ală
ală
a malevolent storm-demon of Romanian and Balkan folklore, usually pictured as a giant dragon /ˈalə/
noun#455 most common
Also: storm-dragon, hail-bringing monster, eclipse-demon
Example sentences
Ala este un monstru din povești.
The ala is a monster from stories.
Copiii se tem de ala din poveștile bunicii.
The children are afraid of the ala from grandmother's stories.
Sătenii credeau că ala aduce grindina peste câmpuri.
The villagers believed that the ala brings hail over the fields.
Legenda spune că ala înghite soarele în timpul eclipselor.
The legend says that the ala swallows the sun during eclipses.
Folcloriștii au comparat ala din mitologia românească cu hala din basmele bulgărești.
Folklorists have compared the ala from Romanian mythology with the hala from Bulgarian tales.
În mitologia populară din sud-estul Europei, alele sunt înfățișate drept balauri uriași, stăpâne ale furtunilor, care aduc nenorocire peste recolte.
In the folk mythology of southeastern Europe, the ale are depicted as huge dragons, mistresses of storms, who bring misfortune upon the harvests.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ala | alele |
| Genitive | alei | alelor |
| Accusative | ala | alele |
| Vocative | alo | alelor |
Word family
alestorm-demons (plural)
balaurdragon, related mythic monster
zmeudragon-demon, related folkloric being
ielemalevolent fairy spirits, same folklore family
Etymology
Ală entered Romanian from South Slavic folklore vocabulary, alongside Bulgarian hala and Serbian ala, both naming a dragon-like weather demon blamed for hail, storms, and crop ruin. The Balkan peoples share this figure as part of a common regional mythology rather than a Romanian invention. Because the word travelled through oral folklore rather than a documented written chain, its deeper origin before Slavic is not established.
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