Aldermaat

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• Alder Maat (less common)

Etymology

The masculine nominative singular of the adjective in Ripuarian Middle High German ended in -e or zero; Standard German -er being a variant that developed in southern dialects. Therefore the form Aldermaat probably contains a comparative form, meaning “older market” (rather than “old market”). Alternatively it might have been influenced by German Alter Markt, but the highly conservative form Nüümaat (see there) makes this seem unlikely.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaldʌˌmaːt/

Proper noun

der Aldermaat m (Kölsch, but also known elsewhere in Ripuarian)

1. the Old Market (Alter Markt) of Cologne
   • 1992, “Hey Kölle!”‎^[1]performed by De Höhner:

     Ich bruch minge Dom, der Rhing, minge Strom, / Un die Hüüsjer bunt om Aldermaat.

     I need my cathedral, the Rhine, my stream, / And the colourful houses on the Old Market.

     (The phrase Hüüsjer bunt om Aldermaat is a quote of a famous 1938 song by Jupp Schlösser. Most of the houses that stood at the time were destroyed during WWII.)

Coordinate terms

• Heumaat
• Iesermaat
• Nüümaat

Related terms

• alt
• Maat