tangerine
noun
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
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Jan. 2026
The rooms Rooms in the historic building go a bit cozier, with pops of tangerine and patterns, though there's a minimalism across all of the rooms with lots of ivory and dark wood details.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Jan. 2026
As bright as a sunrise in both color and flavor, this simple fruit salad calls for just strawberries, oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit, dressed in lime juice, honey, and fresh mint.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Specialty crops, which include tangerines and tangelos are set to match the 400,000 boxes produced last season, while lemon production is forecast to grow from 670,000 boxes to 700,000 boxes.
—Jim Turner, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tangerine
Cite this Entry
“Tangerine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangerine. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tangerine
noun
