The balaur is often associated with the weather and is alternatively called "hala" or "ala", which is usually a Slavic term for a weather demon. This is the type Pamfile calls the "third type" that is air-dwelling. When two balauri meet and fight in the air, there ensues various meteorological damages such as uprooting of trees, or objects being tossed about. Another tradition is that the balaur uses the rainbow as its path and sucks moisture from any spot in order to cause rain. There is also lore about the balaur which is said to be quite similar to the Bulgarian Banat lore about the "lamia" (locally called "lam'a"), which states that the "lam'a" draw water from the sea to fill the cloud. Although the dragons ridden by the Solomonari are often said to be "zmei" (sing. "zmeu"), they were "balauri" according to some sources. A balaur was controlled by these weather-controlling sorcerers using "a golden rein" (or golden bridle; ). The dragons were usually kept hidden in the depths of a lake, until summoned by their riders. The term "Balaur" (Macedo-Romanian "bul'ar") is of unknown etymology. It has been linked with Albanian "boljë" ("snake") "buljar" ("water snake"), terms possibly stemming from the same Thracian root, "*bell-" or "*ber-" "beast, monster", the traces of which can also be found in the name of the Greek mythological hero Bellerophon ("the beast killer"). The Transylvanian Saxon "balaur" "dragon", and "balaura", an insult term in Serbia, are borrowed from Romanian. The Serbo-Croatian "blavor"/"blaor"/"blavur" ("European legless lizard") is cognate with "balaur", and is regarded as one of the few pre-Slavic Balkan relict words in Serbo-Croatian. The maniraptor theropod "Balaur bondoc" is named after this creature.