rathskeller

[ raht-skel-er, rat-, rath- ]

noun

1. (in Germany) the cellar of a town hall, often used as a beer hall or restaurant.
2. a restaurant patterned on the German rathskeller, usually located below street level.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rathskeller¹

1860–65; < German, equivalent to Rath (extracted from Rathaus town hall) + -s 's 1 + Keller cellar

Example Sentences

On busy nights in later years, the atmosphere could be like that of a college rathskeller in a state with a low drinking age.

From New York Times

Music and laughter and the sweet smell of German beer poured from the rathskeller in the building’s basement.

From Literature

The estate ultimately consisted of sixteen structures, including an aviary, and fifty-five baroquely furnished rooms, among them a rathskeller.

From The New Yorker

As a freshman at Georgetown University in 1948, Richard McCooey walked the nearby streets and dreamed that someday he would run a student rathskeller and restaurant within easy reach of the campus.

From Washington Post

The man who presently was brought out of the barred ante-room and taken before the prosecutor might have been anything from a floor-walker of a big department store to a manager of a renowned rathskeller.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bistro
• inn
• lounge
• pub
• saloon
• tavern