--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> The German name Ösel (= Saaremaa) is indeed a contraction of
Ösyssla "island district", called so by contrast to Adalsyssla (=
mainland Estonia). Little wonder, since Denmark bought the island
(together with Western Estonia) in 1559 and kept it until 1645, when
it passed to Sweden (it is now part of Estonia). The name doesn't go
back to prehistoric times. The rest is wrong. Sýsla was an Old Norse
word meaning "business, concern, work" (cf. Middle English
sisel 'busy' -- a Scandinavian loan). The meaning "unit of
territorial division" is not uniquely Danish -- in fact, it is still
used in Iceland. In case you don't know, Iceland is divided into 23
counties known as syslar (sg. sysla), E.g. Arnessysla,
Skaftafellssysla, Kjosarsysla, etc.
>
> Piotr
>
I know the island was Danish later on. Estonia was also Danish in the
13th and 14th century, in case you shold want to raise that point
later. But one might wonder: why use the name of an adminstrative
division which at that time within Denmark was used only in Jutland,
when the state of Denmark by then was based on Sjælland and Scania?
"The name doesn't go back..." Absence of proof... etc
Torsten