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Sulevimägi (Sulevimägi)
Sulev’s mountain or hill. Prolongs Olevimägi, with a similar history revolving around nearby Brookusplats. Began its career as de Iseren Doer (1471), tor Iseren Doren (1481), de Iseren Dore (1529) from MLG iser(n) or isen, iron, and could refer to a hypothetical portcullis in an unnamed and no-longer extant tower near the old Russian church (torn vana vene kiriku juures) located some 15 m NNW of where Aia meets Uus. Moving on a century or so, it was renamed auf Thabor (1599) and auf dem Taborsberge (±1700) in reference to the Mount Tabor in Galilee where Jesus got a transfiguration job, then Brockussackgasse (Brockus cul-de-sac, end 18th C), then Kleine Strandstraße (end 18th C), Kleiner Brockusberg or Brokusberg (1907), and diverse permutations of Little Brockus Hill around Väike Brookusmägi in the 1920s until its current renaming in 1935. Interestingly, while German Sackgasse (first recorded early 18th C) may have been influenced by French cul-de-sac, the earliest record of French sac (1307) is some 500 years after old German sac, and although some linguists trace the French back to a possible Arabic زق, zq (wineskin, or impasse), the consensus for both Fr. and Ger. sac and Eng. sack is through Latin saccus and Greek σάκκος (sakkos) along with a Semitic ancestry going all the way back to Akkadian 𒆭𒊓 (saqqu), sack or penitent sackcloth. We are more interconnected than we think.
Sulevi (Sulev)
Short for Sulevipoeg, Sulev’s son. According to Kreutzwald, one of the 3 cousins and fighting companions of the epic hero Kalevipoeg (along with Alevi and Olevi, see Kalevipoja) or possibly a rhyming variant of Kalev’s name. Note: if Kalev can be associated with kala, fish, and Sulev with sulg:sule, feather, this would (could?) then relate Olev to ole(ma), ‘to be’, a strange whimsy to say the least. The first two examples, for earlier folk who may well identify their inexplicable and ‘magical’ origins as halfway between two poles of human existence, fact (fish=eat) and fantasy (bird=fly), are not outside the bounds of reason. However, could be an adaptation of plain old Olaf. But where would that have left Alevi?
Sule (Sulg)
Feather (pen and nib). Name-bomber in the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. Probably running out of names. If they’re looking for suggestions, they could try Jäälind (kingfisher), elected Estonian Bird of the Year 2014 (see Estonian photographer, Remi Savisaar) or, better still, Suitsupääsuke, see Lennuse or Pääsukese. See also Talviku. Or don’t, see Suitsupääsuse.
Suklema (?)
Former farm name, meaning and derivation unknown. None of the proposals are that convincing (‘Suk-’ from susi [wolf] and ‘-lema’ maybe something geographical or lamb-related)… Street named after a nearby inn of this name recorded as Sutlem (1798, Wiedemann in 1869 gives suklema as Ger. baden [to bathe or swim], fair for an inn), but may be related to the Sutlem manor 35 km S of Tallinn, first recorded 1425 as Suttelemode. This leads to two reflections: 1) MLG suddelære / sutteler became sudeln in mod. Ger., (make a filthy mess of or botch sthg, pfuschen, see also Sossimäe), and implied other grubbing-type terms revolving around the poor-quality or spoiled food attending the predatory camp-followers who ended up becoming sutlers (or victualers), essential players in miliary operations; and -ode with a very big perhaps, from MLG *ōd, from ōddēle, a term involving shared ownership (ȫde > desert, I think not); and 2) far more tenuous, from MLG sǖtlant (south land) or similar, with possible hints of nostalgia for back home in the south. Owned by the von Stackelbergs, one scion of which tacked the manor’s name onto his to become Eduard von Stackelberg-Sutlem. See Valdeku.
