To South East Asians, keris is not just a dagger. It is (more) a defensive weapon than attacking, the one you trust on your last stand in a battle. A spiritual weapon in the means to raise one's self-confidence, a family heirloom, a representation of the owner, charms, power, status, etc.

To be regarded as keris, there are general (verbal) criteria:
1. The blade consists of two parts, the blade itself and the ganja (horizontal part). The blade symbolizing lingga (male aspect) and the ganja symbolizing yoni (female aspect). In Hinduism, this is a symbol for fertility and immortality. Note that ganja iras keris (one piece blade) does exist.
2. The blade leaning at certain degree from the ganja (not straight/90 degrees), a symbol of humbleness.
3. The regular length of the blade is about 33-38 cm with an exception of Moro Kris/Sundang which is broader in dimension. Elder style known as the prototype or keris Buddha is about 16-20 length.  Cundrik, the woman/child keris will usually shorter. But a very short keris-like weapon say for 10 cm length cannot be called as keris, but merely a charm.
4. It has to be made of minimum 2 different material mixes, iron (softer) and metal (harder). The presence of pamor material (titanium, meteor, nickel contain material) was often significant.

There are different names to refer to keris in some areas: kris, kres, kress, curiga, duwung, wangkingan, kadutan, kedutan, tappi, selle, gayang, karieh.

Several keris terminology:
Hulu, ukiran, dederan, jejeran, danganan: hilt
Warangka: sheath
Mendak: smaller keris ring attached between the blade and the hilt
Pendok: metal sheath covering
Selut: bigger keris ring that attached to the hilt
Ganja: the horizontal part in the bottom of keris blade
Tangguh: style or period of origin
Pamor: decorative layer/damascene
Dapur: style of the blade
Ricikan: details or accessories
Mpu or Empu: the blacksmith
Meranggi: the sheath's maker
Luk: wave