Ratolt

Meaning: “advice, counsel” + “power, authority”

Probably inherited from Proto-West Germanic *Rādawald, from *rād (“advice, counsel”) + *wald (“power, authority”). Equivalent to rāt + walt. Cognate with Old English Rǣdweald. Rare older forms with Hrat- probably exhibit Bavarian h-prothesis. Alternatively derived from Proto-West Germanic *hrad (“quick”) + *wald with h-apheresis regular in Old High German by the late 9th C.. First attested in the late 8th or early 9th C..