Names
Võlvi (Võlv)
Vault, arch. Name related to the one-time concrete ‘cellar’ or underground storage facility of Keldrimäe.
Voo (Voog)
Flow, current; also flood, billow, surge. See Voolu.
Voolu (Vool)
1) Stream, flow, current, tide; 2) (Electrical) current; 3) Trend. Vastuvoolu: against the current, upstream; pärivoolu: with the current, downstream. Odd choice of name – located between Põllu, corresponding to its previous temporary (1940-1941) name of Külvi, recently-sown field or young crop, and the Tallinn-Paldiski railway line – but apparently because it was the first street in Kivimäe to get electricity. This was 1927.
Vööri (Vöör)
Fore, as in opposition to aft, where vööris ja ahtris is ‘fore and aft’, and the interesting English word fo’c’sle or even fo’c’s’le, short for fore-castle, is ruhv. Street fifteen minutes’ walk from Ahtri, and a few years’ building away from completion.
Voorimehe (Voorimees)
Cabman, coachman, carrier (voor = cart, wagon, etc.). Apparently where cabmen of the past used to wait. Very odd this one, despite being one of Tallinn’s oldest streets (see map XXX 1310 Reval), no recorded names earlier than 1813: Kleine Rittergasse or lesser (lower) Knight’s lane.
Võra (Võra)
Top of a tree, crown of a forest. PSA: ‘crown shyness’ has nothing to do with shyness or any other emotional reason, but is a simple evolutionary consequence of bioeconomics.
