MANDARIN
Mandarin, Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin dialect, Beijing dialect
(noun) the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of China
mandarin, mandarin orange
(noun) a somewhat flat reddish-orange loose skinned citrus of China
mandarin
(noun) a high public official of imperial China
mandarin
(noun) any high government official or bureaucrat
mandarin
(noun) a member of an elite intellectual or cultural group
mandarin, mandarin orange, mandarin orange tree, Citrus reticulata
(noun) 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 Asia
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
Mandarin (uncountable)
Standard Mandarin, an official language of China and Taiwan, and one of four official languages in Singapore; Putonghua, Guoyu or Huayu
A branch of the Chinese languages, consisting of many dialects; Guanhua or Beifanghua.
Usage notes
• Standard Mandarin (language of the media and education) and Mandarin Chinese (the group of Northern Chinese dialects together with Standard Mandarin) are not always interchangeable and are referred to differently in Chinese. Both are a part of the broader group of languages (see Chinese: Zhongwen, Hanyu), dialects, or topolects.
Synonyms
• Beifanghua, Guanhua, Guoyu, Huayu, Mandarin Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin, Standard Spoken Chinese
Anagrams
• Mirandan
Etymology 1
Noun
mandarin (plural mandarins)
(historical) a high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire [from 1580s]
a pedantic or elitist bureaucrat
(often, pejorative) a pedantic senior person of influence in academia or literary circles
(ornithology) Ellipsis of mandarin duck.
(informal, British) a senior civil servant
Adjective
mandarin (comparative more mandarin, superlative most mandarin)
pertaining to or reminiscent of mandarins; deliberately superior or complex; esoteric, highbrow, obscurantist [from 20th c.]
Etymology 2
Noun
mandarin (plural mandarins)
Ellipsis of mandarin orange.
a small, sweet citrus fruit
tree of species Citrus reticulata
(color) an orange colour
Anagrams
• Mirandan
Source: Wiktionary
Man`da*rin", n. Etym: [Pg. mandarim, from Malay mantri 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. (Bot.)
Definition: A small orange, with easily separable rind. It is thought to be
of Chinese origin, and is counted a distinct species (Citrus
nobilis)mandarin orange; tangerine. Mandarin duck (Zoöl.), a
beautiful Asiatic duck (Dendronessa galericulata), often
domesticated, and regarded by the Chinese as an emblem of conjugal
affection.
– 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition