Did You Know?

When tangerine was first used in the mid-19th century it was an adjective we'd borrowed from French to describe people or things from or relating to the Moroccan city of Tangier. (The French name for "Tangier" is Tanger.) Within about a hundred years the noun tangerine was being used to refer to the fruit we now know by that name. Although tangerines were at one time thought to be native to Morocco, they are now thought to be indigenous to southeast Asia. As our definition explains, tangerines are technically a kind of mandarin orange-and mandarin is another word we got from the French. The French mandarine is most likely originally from the Portuguese word mandarim, which etymologists believe is probably from the color of a Chinese mandarin's robes.

Examples of tangerine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Select one of nine colors (or a combo) and 17 fragrances, like strawberry guava, tangerine or vanilla; then, melt down the soap to fill the reusable molds. — Meghan Kavanaugh, USA TODAY, "41 thoughtful DIY gifts anyone would love," 4 Nov. 2020 That includes other songbirds, including redpolls, chickadees, and, as Wright saw, tangerine and red pine grosbeaks, which are about the same size as a shrike. — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "Meet the northern shrike, a rare carnivorous songbird," 5 Dec. 2020 This matte lipstick is on sale in shades like wild lilac, exotic tangerine, electric pink and more. — Madison Trapkin, USA TODAY, "Black Friday 2020: The best Ulta and Sephora deals," 26 Nov. 2020 Consider Armani Beauty’s feel-good tangerine-colored Lip Maestro an instant pick-me-up. — Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, "Meet Marisa Abela, the Breakout Star of the New HBO Series Industry," 2 Nov. 2020 Hartley offered Carr a fresh tangerine, and then the women jumped out and took a picture with him, squeezing in close, on either side. — Paige Williams, The New Yorker, "The Changing Meaning of the American Flag Under Trump," 14 Oct. 2020 Simply peel a Cuties Mandarin orange or tangerine and trim one-third of a celery stick to a thin stem. — Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, "From 'spooktacular' trees to ghoulish treats, how to do Halloween in (safe!) style in 2020," 12 Oct. 2020 Startling in August, freak lightning storms, errant campfires, and a gender reveal party ignited fast-racing wildfires across the state, which blanketed homes outside the firelines with ash and turned the skies above the Bay Area a dusky tangerine. — Aarian Marshall, Wired, "California Plans to Ban Sales of Gas-Powered Cars by 2035," 23 Sep. 2020 There currently are two flavors — a blueberry tangerine fruited sour beer combined with lactose sugar and just a splash of in-house vodka; and a similar version made with raspberries and passion fruit. — Kathy Flanigan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Eagle Park Brewing offers soft-serve 'ice cream' cones made with beer and a splash of vodka," 14 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tangerine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.