Gaasi (Gaas)
Gas. The word ‘gas’ is believed to have been created by Dutch scientist Jan Baptist van Helmont (1579-1644) as his mother-tongue pronunciation (/χɑs/ or /ɣɑs/) of Anc. Greek χάος – chaos, thus named, apparently, because of his surprise that gas was so disorganised: “halitum illum, Gas vocavi, non longe à Chao”: (I called that vapour Gas, not far removed from Chaos). Anagram of Saagi. Part of a loose construction-materials group. See Paneeli.
Glehni N.v.
(Nikolai von Glehn, Count, 1841-1923)
Founder of the then town, now Tallinn suburb, of Nõmme. Died in Brazil. One of the last scions of a family descended from the German merchant Heinrich von Glehn who arrived in Estonia in the mid-17th C. Street has a fairly motley history of name change, with (ignoring the minor Ger. & Rus. versions) Glehni (1927-39), followed by Niine (1939-59), interluding as Marana (Potentilla spp., 1940-41), then Niineõie (bast tree blossom, 1959-60), and Välgu (1960-89) during the Soviet occupation. The Glehni streetname was reinstated in 1939, upped to Nikolai v. Glehni tn in 1989 and restored to all its aristocratic pre-1939 fullness of Nikolai von Glehni tänav in 2010. In addition to the street, his home, a mock castle called Hohenhaupt after the nearby (400 m) Kõrgepea Nukk, is host to Tallinn’s observatory (see Tähetorni), a park and various sculptures.
Graniidi (Graniit)
Granite. After local depot of paving- and other stones imported from Finland.
Haava (Haab)
Two species: harilik haab, common or trembling aspen, Populus tremula – the trembling is due to the flat petioles allowing the slightest breeze to move the leaves, improving exposure to the sun (and perhaps shaking off hungry insects?) – and hõbepappel or hõbehaab, white poplar, Populus alba. Same muddle in both languages as to name, and both seem accepted, haab or pappel, and poplar or aspen. Haava is also the genitive of haav, meaning wound.