mandarin

[ man-duh-rin ]

noun
  1. (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.

  2. (initial capital letter) the standard Chinese language.

  1. (initial capital letter) a northern Chinese dialect, especially as spoken in and around Beijing.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. an influential or powerful government official or bureaucrat.

  5. a member of an elite or powerful group or class, as in intellectual or cultural milieus: the mandarins of the art world.

adjective
  1. of or relating to a mandarin or mandarins.

  2. elegantly refined, as in language or taste.

Origin of mandarin

1
1580–90; <Portuguese mandarim, alteration (by association with mandar to order) of Malay məntəri<Hindi mantrī,Sanskrit mantrin councilor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mandarin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mandarin

mandarin

/ (ˈmændərɪn) /


noun
  1. (in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine senior grades of the bureaucracy, entered by examinations

  2. a high-ranking official whose powers are extensive and thought to be outside political control

  1. a person of standing and influence, as in literary or intellectual circles

    • a small citrus tree, Citrus nobilis, cultivated for its edible fruit

    • the fruit of this tree, resembling the tangerine

Origin of mandarin

1
C16: from Portuguese mandarim, via Malay menteri from Sanskrit mantrin counsellor, from mantra counsel

Derived forms of mandarin

  • mandarinate, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012