-rath
German
editEtymology
editFrom Old High German rot (“clearing”), related to roden. The spelling with -a- reflects dialectal [ɔː] in these names. However, most Rhenish dialects should regularly have short [ɔ] (Central Franconian rodde), so there probably underlies some kind of analogy or older form of pronunciation. Another possibility would be influence by a Middle Low German spelling; compare -rade.
Pronunciation
editSuffix
edit-rath