Rathaus

Forms

Rathaus n (genitive Rathauses, plural Rathäuser)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German rāthūs, a compound from German Rat (“council”) + Haus (“house”).^[2][1][3] The first part, Middle High German rāt, Old High German rāt, is the verbal noun of raten and first meant the means needed to keep a household, then help and advice; since Old High German times it has also meant a deliberation and the assembly that deliberates.^[4][5][6] The second part is Middle High German hūs, Old High German hūs, Proto-Germanic *hūsą, whose further origin is unclear.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds Middle High German rāthūs in charters from 1289 on, and in the town law of Munich.^[3] Early New High German used it for the meeting place of a town or village council, the seat of the town's administration and court, where public announcements were made, markets and finances were managed, and sometimes dances were held.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Fifteenth-century glossaries give rathus for Latin curia, capitolium and praetorium, and Luther's Bible renders Matthew 10:17 as sie werden euch uberantworten fur jre ratheuser “they will deliver you up to their councils”.^[9] Occasionally the word was used for the village hall, otherwise called the Gemeindehaus, and once for the Roman senate house.^[9][8] The older spelling Rathhaus is found in Gellert and others.^[1][9]

By metonymy Rathaus also stands for the town council and administration themselves, as when a party is said to have entered the Rathaus.^[10][2] The saying wenn man vom Rathaus kommt, ist man klüger means that one is always wiser after the event.^[10] The word was borrowed into Polish ratusz, Russian ратуша (ratuša), Slovene rótovž and Czech rathaus, and English writers have used it for a German town hall since 1611.^[1][11]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German rāt is first recorded.^[4]
• 1289 – Middle High German rāthūs appears in charters.^[3]
• 16th century – Luther's Bible speaks of ratheuser in Matthew 10:17.^[9]
• 1611 – First record of Rathaus in an English text.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A town hall or city hall, the building that houses the local council and the municipal offices: Die Bürgermeisterin empfing die Gäste im Rathaus.^[10][1]
2. The municipal administration or council itself: Sie wurde ins Rathaus gewählt.^[10][2]

Related words

• Rat
• Haus
• raten
• Ratsherr

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 747
5. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
6. ^ Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 674
7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 399
8. ^ a b Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
9. ^ a b c d Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 14, 185
10. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
11. ^ a b Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de