mandarin
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (6)
- the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of ChinaSynonyms: Mandarin ChineseMandarin dialectBeijing dialectType of Chinese
- shrub or small tree having flattened globose fruit with very sweet aromatic pulp and thin yellow-orange to flame-orange rind that is loose and easily removed; native to southeastern AsiaSynonyms: mandarin orangemandarin orange treeCitrus reticulataType of citrus, citrus treeKinds satsuma, tangerine, clementineParts mandarin orangeMember of genus Citrus
- a member of an elite intellectual or cultural groupType of elitist
- any high government official or bureaucratType of official, functionary
- a high public official of imperial ChinaType of Chinese
- a somewhat flat reddish-orange loose skinned citrus of ChinaSynonyms: mandarin orangeType of citrus, citrus fruitKinds clementine, satsuma, tangerinePart of mandarin orange, mandarin orange tree
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: Pg. mandarim, from Malay mantrī minister of state, prop. a Hind. word, fr. Skr. mantrin a counselor, manira a counsel, man to think.
1. A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam.
2. Hence: A powerful government official or bureaucrat, especially one who is pedantic and has a strong sense of his own importance and privelege.
3. Hence: A member of an influential, powerful or elite group, espcially within artistic or intellectual circles; — used especially of elder members who are traditionalist or conservative about their specialties.
5. The form of the Chinese language spoken by members of the Chinese Imperial Court an officials of the empire.
6. Any of several closely related dialects of the Chinese language spoken by a mojority of the population of China, the standard variety of which is spoken in the region around Beijing.
7. Botany A small flattish reddish-orange loose-skinned orange, with an easily separable rind. It is thought to be of Chinese origin, and is counted a distinct species (Citrus reticulata formerly Citrus nobilis); called also mandarin orange and tangerine.
Mandarin language, the spoken or colloquial language of educated people in China. — Mandarin yellow Chemistry, an artificial aniline dyestuff used for coloring silk and wool, and regarded as a complex derivative of quinoline.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors