Rathaus German · revision 35859

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1289, Middle High German charter}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * [ˈʁaːthaʊ̯s]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Rathaus''' ''n'' (genitive Rathauses, plural Rathäuser)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|rāthūs]], a compound [[af|de|Rat|Haus|t1=council|t2=house]].^(Wiktionary DE)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler MHD) The first part, [[gmh|rāt]], [[goh|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.^(Kluge 2011|747)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|674) The second part is [[gmh|hūs]], [[goh|hūs]], [[gem-pro|*hūsą]], whose further origin is unclear.^(Kluge 2011|399)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler finds Middle High German ''rāthūs'' in charters from 1289 on, and in the town law of Munich.^(Köbler MHD) 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.^(FWB)

+

+ ==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”.^(DWB|14, 185) Occasionally the word was used for the village hall, otherwise called the ''Gemeindehaus'', and once for the Roman senate house.^(DWB|14, 185)^(FWB) The older spelling ''Rathhaus'' is found in Gellert and others.^(Wiktionary)^(DWB|14, 185)

+

+ By metonymy ''Rathaus'' also stands for the town council and administration themselves, as when a party is said to have entered the ''Rathaus''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE) The saying ''wenn man vom Rathaus kommt, ist man klüger'' means that one is always wiser after the event.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The word was borrowed into [[pl|ratusz]], [[ru|ратуша|tr=ratuša]], [[sl|rótovž]] and [[cs|rathaus]], and English writers have used it for a German town hall since 1611.^(Wiktionary)^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''rāt'' is first recorded.^(Kluge 2011|747)

+ * 1289 – Middle High German ''rāthūs'' appears in charters.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 16th century – Luther's Bible speaks of ''ratheuser'' in Matthew 10:17.^(DWB|14, 185)

+ * 1611 – First record of ''Rathaus'' in an English text.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|town hall]] or [[m|en|city hall]], the building that houses the local council and the municipal offices: ''Die Bürgermeisterin empfing die Gäste im Rathaus.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The municipal [[m|en|administration]] or [[m|en|council]] itself: ''Sie wurde ins Rathaus gewählt.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Rat]]

+ * [[Haus]]

+ * [[raten]]

+ * [[Ratsherr]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}