Names
Kiek in de Kök (0) 
Usually translated as “peep in the kitchen”, although ‘look’, cf. German gucken or kucken, might be more appropriate. Said to derive from Low Saxon kijk in de keuken. Earliest recorded spelling (1577) was Kyck in de Kaeken. Explanations revolve around its uncommon height of 38 m setting it so far above neighboring houses’ chimneys that the guards could either see, at a stretch, straight down into the kitchens, or see what the enemy was cooking, their kitchens being furthest from the front. My personal suspicion, however, given later (and central to southern) German words such as Guckindiewelt (2nd half 18th C) and northern German variant Kiekindiewelt, curious child, Topfgucker, Nosy Parker, lit. saucepan peeker and, particularly, Guckfenster, Judas window, spyhole, peephole (recorded 16th C), of which the tower has many, is that the name means just a small kitchen- or observation-window and the tower was named by metonymy. See also Kuldjala torn.
Kiige (Kiik)
Swing. Made of wood, the traditional Estonian swing took on as many passengers as a Greek motorcycle and provided a similar degree of adrenalin. Today, higher, more evolved and distinctly more singular, an Estonian sport, kiiking, where the participant must swing 360° over the top bar. There seem to be three species of kiik: 1) the previously-mentioned mainframe version; 2) the pöörkiik or ‘rotary’ kiik with cord attached to the top of a pole and seats at the bottom; and 3) the poor man’s version, the kiigelaud, bascially a plank across a log. Having killed at least 3 children in the past 800 years, Europe has deemed Estonia’s traditional swings unsafe, and therefore illegal. Cars, on the other hand... Street located near site of former kiik. Street first known as Aia aka Gartenstraße and Садовая ул. (1926-59) (see Uus), with 2 temporary renamings as Ploomi (1940-41) and Ale (1959-60), see Alemaa.
Kiikri (Kiiker)
Spyglass (see Kiek in de Kök), telescope, field glass. Loan word probably from German, Kieker, binoculars or telescope. New street (2011) next to Pikksilma.
Kiili (Kiil)
Dragonfly. The larvae are unique in the insect world for using jet-propulsion, ejecting water from the anus to achieve speeds of up to 10 cm per second. Doesn’t work: I tried it in the swimming-pool and they asked me to leave… Part of a small groups of insects, placed appetizingly next to a horde of insectivorous rodents and birds... See also Kuklase.
Kiini (Kiin):
1) Billhook or heavy chopping-knife, apparently from Latvian šķīnis (possibly related to Proto-Germanic *skintha-, ‘to flay, skin’ [cf. German schinden]), used for assarting purposes (see neighbors Aedvere, etc.). 2 (probably origin) Bot-, Gad- or Warble-fly, divided into three families: nahakiinlased, ‘skin bot flies’, Hypodermatinae; maokiinlased, ‘stomach bot flies’, Gasterophilinae; and ninakiinlased, ‘nose bot flies’, Oestrinae. The latter are the bugger. Depending on species, the female may eject (dare we say ‘ping’?) larvae into the host’s nasal cavities whence they burrow into the body, develop and grow, then escape throught the skin to pupate in the soil, causing extreme pain and discomfort both inwards and out. An arms race has evolved with reindeer burying their muzzle in the snow, vegetation or water when they hear the sound, and the fly learning stealth strategies. Interestingly, where kiinijooks is a stampede of reindeer on hearing the buzz of the botfly, causing a stampede can be kiili jooksma (see Kiili above), reflecting the underlying uncertainty as to the term’s etymology, whether from Lithuanian gylys for needle, thorn, prick, sting, gadfly or botfly, or from MLG kīlen, to run quickly. Kinni jooksma, on the other hand, refers to when your brain goes dead. So much change in such a tiny soundlet. As an aside, while most people associate prehistoric art with cave paintings of mammoths, aurochs and horses, another recurrent subject seems to be the bot fly larva, with numerous engravings on bones and antlers as well as an exquisite carving in jet from the Hohlenstein Stadel caves in Germany, home to the famous Löwenmensch (lion-human, open question as to gender) and ‘Venus of Hohle Fels’ sculptures dating back to maybe 40K BP. Although ‘bot art’ is younger, perhaps 27K BP, and, to modern man, repugnant, to reindeer herders (and especially skinners, hence question at start of entry) the larva is a tasty, juicy, fat and salty perk of the job...
