Webster's 1913 Dictionary
RATHSKELLER
RATHSKELLER Raths "kel `ler (räts "kel *ler ), n. [G., also ratskeller, prop. , town- hall cellar. ]
Defn: Orig. , in Germany, the cellar or basement of the city hall, usually rented for use as a restaurant where beer is sold; hence, a beer saloon of the German type below the street level, where, usually, drinks are served only at tables and simple food may also be had; -- sometimes loosely used, in English, of what are essentially basement restaurants where liquors are served.
New American Oxford Dictionary
rathskeller
raths kel ler |ˈrätˌskelər, ˈrat-, ˈraTH- ˈrɑtsˌkɛlər | ▶noun a beer hall or restaurant in a basement. ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from obsolete German (now Ratskeller ), from Rathaus ‘town hall ’ + Keller ‘cellar, ’ denoting the place where beer and wine were sold.
Oxford Dictionary
rathskeller
rathskeller |ˈrɑːtsˌkɛlə | ▶noun US a beer hall or restaurant in a basement. ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from obsolete German (now Ratskeller ), from Rathaus ‘town hall ’ + Keller ‘cellar ’, denoting the place where beer and wine were sold.
The Wordsmith Dictionary