mandarin English · revision 383

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmæn.də.ɹɪn/; /mæn.dəˈɹɪn/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|pt|mandarim]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) partly through Spanish ''mandarín'' and older Dutch ''mandorijn'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|ms|menteri]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|hi|मन्त्री|tr=mantrī|t=counsellor, minister of state]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|sa|मन्त्रिन्|tr=mantrin|t=adviser]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from ''mantra'' “counsel” (see [[mantra]]).^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) The Portuguese form was influenced by ''mandar'' “to command”.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The word is not Chinese,^(Cresswell 2021) and the Chinese equivalent is ''kwan'' “public servant”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ The fruit (1771) is [[bor|fr|mandarine]], probably named from the yellow robes of mandarins.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A Chinese official (1589, in the erroneous form ''mandelines'').^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was used generically for all nine grades of officials in the Chinese Empire.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(AHD) From 1604 ''Mandarin'' was the name of the form of Chinese spoken by officials and educated people,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and it is now the standard official language of China.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Cresswell 2021) By 1907 it was used of any important person,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in Britain especially of a senior civil servant, as in ''Whitehall mandarins''.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989) As an adjective it describes refined, ornate or esoteric language or literary style (1916).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(AHD) The small, deep-coloured orange is so called from 1771,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the word also names the ''mandarin duck'' and a nodding toy figure in Chinese costume (1791).^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1589 – a Chinese official.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1604 – the language of Chinese officials.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1771 – the mandarin orange.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1791 – a nodding toy figure.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1907 – an important person, a senior official.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1916 – adjective, highbrow, ornate.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A member of any of the nine ranks of high public officials in the Chinese Empire.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A high government official or [[bureaucrat]], especially a pedantic one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person of influence and status in intellectual or literary circles, often an elder and traditionalist one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Mandarin'': the official standard spoken language of China, based on the dialect of Beijing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A small citrus tree, ''Citrus reticulata'', or its loose-skinned orange fruit; a [[tangerine]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to or typical of a mandarin.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Marked by elaborate, polished or ornate language or style.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mandarinic]]

+ * [[mandarinism]]

+ * [[mandarinate]]

+ * [[mandarin collar]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mantra]]

+ * [[mind]]

+ * [[tangerine]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}