Rat

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "rat"

English

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Proper noun

Rat

  1. The first of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.

See also

Anagrams

German

Alternative forms

  • Rath (obsolete)
  • Raht (obsolete; in use from the 16th to the end of the 18th century, uncommon in the 19th century, officially proscribed since 1902)

Etymology

From Middle High German rāt, from Old High German rāt, from Proto-West Germanic *rād, from Proto-Germanic *rēdaz.

Cognate with Dutch raad, English rede and read (n.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʁaːt/,
  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -aːt
  • Homophone: Rad (according to the standard pronunciation of that word)

Noun

Rat m (strong, genitive Rates or Rats, plural Räte)

  1. advice, counsel
  2. council
  3. councilor, councillor
  4. (Germany) title of a Beamter ("Public servant") at the beginning of the senior service
  5. (Austria) title of a Beamter ("Public servant") in the senior service after first promotion

Usage notes

(4) The title is always preceded by a prefix. The common prefix for civil servants in the administration is Regierungs- ("in government administration"), in which case the full title is Regierungsrat. Teachers hold the title of a Studienrat (Educational councilor).
In terms of hierarchy, the Räte are comparable to a Major or a Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander).

Declension

Declension of Rat
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Rat die Räte
genitive eines des Rates, Rats der Räte
dative einem dem Rat, Rate1 den Räten
accusative einen den Rat die Räte

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German ratte, from Old High German ratta, perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *ratt, from Proto-Germanic *rattaz, though the consonantism in High German is unexplained.

Cognate with German Ratte, Dutch rat, English rat, Icelandic rotta.

Pronunciation

Noun

Rat m or f (plural Raten)

  1. rat
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