mandarin

¹man·da·rin

noun \ˈman-d(ə-)rən\

Definition of MANDARIN

1

a : a public official in the Chinese Empire of any of nine superior grades b (1) : a pedantic official (2) : bureaucrat c : a person of position and influence often in intellectual or literary circles; especially : an elder and often traditionalist or reactionary member of such a circle

2

capitalized a : a form of spoken Chinese used by the court and the official classes of the Empire b : the group of closely related Chinese dialects that are spoken in about four fifths of the country and have a standard variety centering about Beijing

3

[Swedish mandarin (apelsin) mandarin (orange), ultimately from Portuguese mandarim mandarin; perhaps from the color of a mandarin's robes] a : a small spiny orange tree (Citrus reticulata) of southeastern Asia with yellow to reddish-orange loose-rinded fruits; also : a tree (as the satsuma) developed in cultivation from the mandarin by artificial selection or hybridization b : the fruit of a mandarin

— man·da·rin·ic \ˌman-də-ˈri-nik\ adjective

— man·da·rin·ism \ˈman-d(ə-)rə-ˌni-zəm\ noun

Examples of MANDARIN

1. <the officious mandarins in the motor vehicles department refused to let me renew my license without all of the required forms>

Origin of MANDARIN

Portuguese mandarim, from Malay mĕntĕri, from Sanskrit mantrin counselor, from mantra counsel — more at mantra

First Known Use: 1589

Related to MANDARIN

Synonyms: civil servant, functionary, bureaucrat, public servant

Related Words: clerk, officeholder, official, officiary; employee (also employe), hand, hireling, jobholder, underling, worker

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Other Language Terms

cognate, collocation, homonym