Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
mandarin [man-duh-rin] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- (in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine ranks of public officials, each distinguished by a particular kind of button worn on the cap.
- (initial capital letter) the standard Chinese language.
- (initial capital letter) a northern Chinese dialect, especially as spoken in and around Beijing.
- a small, spiny citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, native to China, bearing lance-shaped leaves and flattish, orange-yellow to deep-orange loose-skinned fruit, some varieties of which are called tangerines.
- any of several plants belonging to the genus Disporum or Streptopus, of the lily family, as S. roseus (rose mandarin) or D. lanuginosum (yellow mandarin), having drooping flowers and red berries.
- an influential or powerful government official or bureaucrat.
- a member of an elite or powerful group or class, as in intellectual or cultural milieus: the mandarins of the art world.
adjective
- of or relating to a mandarin or mandarins.
- elegantly refined, as in language or taste.
Origin of mandarin 1580–90; Portuguese mandarim, alteration (by association with mandar to order) of Malay məntəri Hindi mantrī, Sanskrit mantrin councilor Examples from the Web for mandarin Contemporary Examples of mandarin
Sandwiched in between was a “Potbelly Punch” of SoCal Fruit Punch and mandarin vodka.
Wash ‘Pulp Fiction’ Down With a Tasty Beverage
Rich Goldstein
October 17, 2014
In the original Marvel comic books, the Mandarin was born and bred in China, a descendant of Genghis Khan no less.
Did Hollywood Collaborate With Hitler? A New Book Makes Bold Claims.
Christopher Bray
September 9, 2013
But there is one important thing they do not know, which is what it is like to be anyone except a mandarin.
Megan McArdle
February 21, 2013
To the extent that the “Tiger Mom” phenomenon is actually real, it’s arguably the cultural legacy of the Mandarin system.
Megan McArdle
February 21, 2013
And thus the separation of the mandarin class grows ever more complete.
Megan McArdle
February 21, 2013
Historical Examples of mandarin
And next a Chinese mandarin, who nods his head at Annie and myself.
Little Annie’s Ramble (From “Twice Told Tales”)
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Perhaps, for being such a darin’ man, he may be made a mandarin!
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 4, April 23, 1870
Various
The mandarin of this district is my friend, and I can make it all right.
Eleanor Raper
Ireland is a kind of laboratory for the culture of the mandarin bacillus.
George A. Birmingham
I’ll bet you’d be flirting with some mandarin or pasha before you got through.’
Cleveland Moffett
British Dictionary definitions for mandarin mandarin noun
- (in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine senior grades of the bureaucracy, entered by examinations
- a high-ranking official whose powers are extensive and thought to be outside political control
- a person of standing and influence, as in literary or intellectual circles
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- a small citrus tree, Citrus nobilis, cultivated for its edible fruit
- the fruit of this tree, resembling the tangerine
Derived Formsmandarinate, nounWord Origin for mandarin C16: from Portuguese mandarim, via Malay menteri from Sanskrit mantrin counsellor, from mantra counsel Word Origin and History for mandarin n.
“Chinese official,” 1580s, via Portuguese mandarim or older Dutch mandorijn from Malay mantri, from Hindi mantri “councilor, minister of state,” from Sanskrit mantri, nominative of mantrin- “advisor,” from mantra “counsel,” from PIE root *men- “to think” (see mind (n.)).
Form influenced in Portuguese by mandar “to command, order.” Used generically for the several grades of Chinese officials; sense of “chief dialect of Chinese” (spoken by officials and educated people) is from c.1600. Transferred sense of “important person” attested by 1907. The type of small, deep-colored orange so called from 1771, from resemblance of its color to that of robes worn by mandarins.