mandarin
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (6)
- 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 reticulata
- a member of an elite intellectual or cultural group
- any high government official or bureaucrat
- a high public official of imperial China
- a somewhat flat reddish-orange loose skinned citrus of ChinaSynonyms: mandarin orange
- the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of ChinaSynonyms: MandarinMandarin ChineseMandarin dialectBeijing dialect
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
1.A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam. [1913 Webster]
2.Hence: A powerful government official or bureaucrat, especially one who is pedantic and has a strong sense of his own importance and privelege. [PJC]
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. [PJC]
5.The form of the Chinese language spoken by members of the Chinese Imperial Court an officials of the empire. [PJC]
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. [PJC]
7.(Bot.) 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. [1913 Webster]
Mandarin language, the spoken or colloquial language of educated people in China.
Mandarin yellow (Chem.), an artificial aniline dyestuff used for coloring silk and wool, and regarded as a complex derivative of quinoline. [1913 Webster]