mandarin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmæn.də.ɹɪn/; /mæn.dəˈɹɪn/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Portuguese mandarim,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} partly through Spanish mandarín and older Dutch mandorijn,^[2][3][4] from Malay menteri,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Hindi मन्त्री (mantrī, “counsellor, minister of state”),^[3][4][6] from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, “adviser”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from मन्त्र (mantra) “counsel” (see mantra).^[2][4][5][6] The Portuguese form was influenced by mandar “to command”.^[4][6] The word is not Chinese,^[7] and the Chinese equivalent is 官 (kwan) “public servant”.^[4]

The fruit (1771) is borrowed from French mandarine, probably named from the yellow robes of mandarins.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Chinese official (1589, in the erroneous form mandelines).^[3][8][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was used generically for all nine grades of officials in the Chinese Empire.^[4][8][2] From 1604 Mandarin was the name of the form of Chinese spoken by officials and educated people,^[3][4][8] and it is now the standard official language of China.^[2][9][7] By 1907 it was used of any important person,^[4][8] and in Britain especially of a senior civil servant, as in Whitehall mandarins.^[7][8] As an adjective it describes refined, ornate or esoteric language or literary style (1916).^[8][5][2] The small, deep-coloured orange is so called from 1771,^[4][8] and the word also names the mandarin duck and a nodding toy figure in Chinese costume (1791).^[8][1]

Timeline

• 1589 – a Chinese official.^[3][8][5]
• 1604 – the language of Chinese officials.^[3][8]
• 1771 – the mandarin orange.^[4][8]
• 1791 – a nodding toy figure.^[8]
• 1907 – an important person, a senior official.^[4][8]
• 1916 – adjective, highbrow, ornate.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A member of any of the nine ranks of high public officials in the Chinese Empire.
2. A high government official or bureaucrat, especially a pedantic one.
3. A person of influence and status in intellectual or literary circles, often an elder and traditionalist one.
4. Mandarin: the official standard spoken language of China, based on the dialect of Beijing.
5. A small citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, or its loose-skinned orange fruit; a tangerine.

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or typical of a mandarin.
2. Marked by elaborate, polished or ornate language or style.

Word family

• mandarinic
• mandarinism
• mandarinate
• mandarin collar

Related words

• mantra
• mind
• tangerine

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House