Big Pehmejärv (, also simply ) is a lake in Estonia. It is located in the village of Ähijärve in Antsla Parish, Võru County.
Physical description The lake has an area of . The lake has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . It is long, and its shoreline measures .
Name The lake was attested in historical sources as Pehemejerwe in 1638 and Pohame Siö in 1684. The name 'Big Pehmejärv' distinguishes the lake from neighboring ( or ), which is about one-tenth the size of the larger lake. The name literally means 'soft lake'. If this is a continuation of the original name of the lake, the name may have been motivated either by the lake's marshy shores or the soft water (i.e., water with low mineral content) in the lake. The nearby hamlet of Kaudsi (or Kautsi) to the east in the village of Viirapalu was also formerly named after the lake; it was attested in historical sources as Poehama Kuella in 1627, and as Pehomekyllo and Pehama kyllo in 1638 (literally, 'soft village').
See also List of lakes of Estonia
References