Names
Leegi (Leek)
Flame, blaze. NB: not the same blaze as Laugu, despite its nominative being spelled the same way as one of the latter’s translations…
Leesika (Leesikas)
Bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. Group of berry streets near the Liiva kalmistu. See Pihlaka.
Leevikese (Leevikene)
Diminutive of leevike, bullfinch. Four species of finch breeding in Estonia:
- Leevike, common bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
- Karmiinleevike, common rosefinch, Carpodacus erythrinus
- Kõrbeleevike, trumpeter finch, Bucanetes githagineus
- Männileevike, pine grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator.
Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See also Lennuse.
Lehe (Leht)
Leaf, also sheet of paper, but not here.
Lehiku (Lehik)
Uncertain. One of the Mähe flower-name group, so ought to be a flower, despite there not being one of that name. Saagpakk gives ‘bastard toadflax’, but candidates outside geographical range of Estonia: linalehik, one of the Thesium spp., and Comandra umbellata, not listed for Estonia either. There are over a dozen flowers with names ending in ‑lehik: sõrmlehik (Schefflera spp.), tiigerlehik (Calathea spp.) and tõlvlehik (Spathiphyllum spp., a typical member being the peace lily, is the one I’d vote for). The leh root means leaf, suggesting the plant’s conspicuous characteristics. See Liilia. On the other hand, lehik:lehiku does mean gill (fungi, not fish), or, in printing, leaflet. Who knows?
