mandarín

Forms

mandarín (feminine mandarina, masculine plural mandarines, feminine plural mandarinas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Portuguese mandarim, recorded in Portuguese from 1514.^[2][3][4][5] The Portuguese word is from Malay menteri (“minister”), from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, “counsellor, minister”), from मन्त्र (mantra, “counsel”) with the agent suffix -इन् (-in).^[1][3] Corriente and Wikcionario place Hindi मंत्री (mantrī) between the Sanskrit and the Malay word.^[6][7] Corominas and Nascentes explain the Portuguese ⟨d⟩ by the influence of mandar (“to command”).^[3][8][9] From Portuguese the word passed to all the languages of western Europe.^[3]

The Academy's dictionary of 1899 derived it from Spanish mandar.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas's first record is in Pedro Teixeira, in 1610; it then appears in Terreros and in the Academy's dictionary by 1843.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The Academy in 1899 defined the mandarin as the man who governs a city or administers justice in China and other Asian countries, and figuratively, in a colloquial use, a man who holds an office but is little esteemed.^[10] The modern ironic sense, an influential person in politics, the arts or letters, is usually plural.^[2][11] The name of the language, the Chinese of the north, centre, east and south-west that is the basis of the common language, came later as a noun and adjective.^[2][12]

The feminine mandarina “tangerine” is a derivative, in the Academy's dictionary in 1899 or 1914, and Corominas takes it to refer to the colour of the mandarins' robes.^[3][4] He rejects Kunze's derivation from Mandara, a native name of Mauritius, for which no evidence is given.^[3] In Argentina mandarín is a kind of mandarin orange tree.^[13] In Cuba and elsewhere it popularly means “bossy person”.^[3][14]

Timeline

• 1514 – first record of Portuguese mandarim.^[3][5]
• 1608 – a Chinese damask called damasco mandarí appears in Guatemala, and damasco mandarín in Guadalajara in 1669.^[15]
• 1610 – Pedro Teixeira, the first record in Spanish.^[3][4]
• 1843 – the word is in the Academy's dictionary.^[3]
• 1899 – the Academy derives it from mandar, and mandarina “tangerine” is recorded.^[10][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the mandarins of China or other Asian countries.^[2][1]
2. Of or relating to the Mandarin language: el léxico mandarín.^[2]

Noun

1. (historical) In China and other Asian countries, a high official of the old imperial administration.^[2][1]
2. (ironic) An influential person in politics, the arts, literature or society; usually in the plural: los mandarines de la crítica.^[2][11]
3. Mandarin: the variety of Chinese spoken in the north, centre, east and south-west of China, the basis of the common language.^[2][1]

Word family

• mandarina

Related words

• Portuguese mandarim

Usage notes

The feminine mandarina is used for the fruit, short for naranja mandarina.^[2] The DLE has a second, colloquial mandarín “bossy”, from mandar crossed with this word.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. mandarín
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 801
4. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mandarín
5. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. mandarim
6. ^ Corriente, Federico; Pereira, Christophe; Vicente, Ángeles (2019), Dictionnaire des emprunts ibéro-romans: emprunts à l'arabe et aux langues du monde islamique (Encyclopédie linguistique d'Al-Andalus 3), Berlin: De Gruyter, p. s.v. mandarim
7. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. mandarín
8. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. mandarim
9. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 440
10. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 627
11. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mandarín
12. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. mandarín
13. ^ Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 295
14. ^ Ortiz, Fernando (1923), Un catauro de cubanismos: apuntes lexicográficos, La Habana, p. 66
15. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. bandarín
16. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. mandarín2