See also: Mandarin and mandarín

English edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri, and its source, Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, minister, councillor), from मन्त्र (mantra, counsel, maxim, mantra) +‎ -इन् (-in, an agent suffix).

In Chinese folk etymology, the word originates from Mandarin 滿大人大人 (Mǎndàrén, literally Manchu important man).

Noun edit

mandarin (plural mandarins)

  1. (historical) A high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire. [from 1580s]
    • 1991, Chris Mullin, The Year of the Fire Monkey[1] (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 252:
      LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs.
      They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the Celestial Empire.
  2. A pedantic or elitist bureaucrat.
  3. (sometimes derogatory) A pedantic senior person of influence in academia or literary circles.
    • 1966 April 22, “The Beauty of His Malice”, in Time[2], archived from the original on 2012-11-06:
      Its sting preserved to literature a fierce peculiar genius [Waugh] who, in the 40 years before his death last week at 62, achieved recognition as the grand old mandarin of modern British prose and as a satirist whose skill at sticking pens in people rates him a roomy cell in the murderers’ row (Swift, Pope, Wilde, Shaw) of English letters.
    • 2021 June 23, Peter S. Canellos, “Why The ‘Trump Court’ Won’t Be Like Trump”, in Politico:
      When mandarins on the court pointed to obscure language in the Constitution to overturn a century of precedent and declare the income tax unconstitutional, Harlan sided with precedent[.]
    • 2024 January 13, Boyd Tonkin, “The culture of copyright creep”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 9:
      When institutional mandarins such as this eminent pair set out to undermine the traditional basis for remunerating the products of the mind, you might expect a lowly scribe (such as your reviewer) to take umbrage.
  4. (ornithology) Ellipsis of mandarin duck.
  5. (informal, Britain) A senior civil servant.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
  • Irish: mandairín
Translations edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adjective edit

mandarin (comparative more mandarin, superlative most mandarin)

  1. Pertaining to or reminiscent of mandarins; deliberately superior or complex; esoteric, highbrow, obscurantist. [from 20th c.]
    • 1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society, published 2010, page 58:
      A mandarin impassivity had descended over Smiley's face. The earlier emotion was quite gone.
    • 2007, Marina Warner, “Doubly Damned”, in London Review of Books, 29:3, p. 26:
      Though alert to riddles' strong roots in vernacular narrative, Cook's tastes are mandarin, and she gives a loving account of Wallace Stevens's meditations on the life of poetic images and simile […].

Etymology 2 edit

From French mandarine, feminine of mandarin, probably formed as Etymology 1, above, from the yellow colour of the mandarins' costume.

Noun edit

mandarin (plural mandarins)

  1. Ellipsis of mandarin orange.:
    1. A small, sweet citrus fruit.
    2. A tree of the species Citrus reticulata.
  2. (color) An orange colour.
    mandarin:  
Hypernyms edit
Translations edit

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Crimean Tatar edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Spanish mandarín.

Noun edit

mandarin

  1. mandarin (fruit)

Declension edit

References edit

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[3], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Danish edit

Etymology edit

From Portuguese mandarim.

Noun edit

mandarin c (singular definite mandarinen, plural indefinite mandariner)

  1. mandarin (Chinese Imperial bureaucrat)
  2. mandarin orange, mandarin (a small, sweet citrus fruit)

Inflection edit

Noun edit

mandarin n

  1. Mandarin

References edit

Faroese edit

Etymology edit

From Danish mandarin, from Dutch mandorijn or Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri, from Hindi मन्त्रि (mantri), from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, minister, councillor), from मन्त्र (mantra, counsel, maxim, mantra) + -इन् (-in, an agent suffix).

Noun edit

mandarin f (genitive singular mandarinar, plural mandarinir)

  1. mandarin orange, mandarin (a small, sweet citrus fruit)

Declension edit

Declension of mandarin
f2 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative mandarin mandarinin mandarinir mandarinirnar
accusative mandarin mandarinina mandarinir mandarinirnar
dative mandarin mandarinini mandarinum mandarinunum
genitive mandarinar mandarinarinnar mandarina mandarinanna

Noun edit

mandarin n (genitive singular mandarins)

  1. Mandarin

Declension edit

Singular
Indefinite
Nominative mandarin
Accusative mandarin
Dative mandarini
Genitive mandarins

See also edit

French edit

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

mandarin (feminine mandarine, masculine plural mandarins, feminine plural mandarines)

  1. mandarin (of the former Chinese empire)

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

Noun edit

mandarin m (uncountable)

  1. Mandarin (language)

Further reading edit

Hungarian edit

 mandarin on Hungarian Wikipedia

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [ˈmɒndɒrin]
  • Hyphenation: man‧da‧rin
  • Rhymes: -in

Etymology 1 edit

An internationalism mainly via German, originally from Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri.[1]

Noun edit

mandarin (countable and uncountable, plural mandarinok)

  1. (historical) mandarin
  2. Mandarin (language)
Declension edit
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative mandarin mandarinok
accusative mandarint mandarinokat
dative mandarinnak mandarinoknak
instrumental mandarinnal mandarinokkal
causal-final mandarinért mandarinokért
translative mandarinná mandarinokká
terminative mandarinig mandarinokig
essive-formal mandarinként mandarinokként
essive-modal
inessive mandarinban mandarinokban
superessive mandarinon mandarinokon
adessive mandarinnál mandarinoknál
illative mandarinba mandarinokba
sublative mandarinra mandarinokra
allative mandarinhoz mandarinokhoz
elative mandarinból mandarinokból
delative mandarinról mandarinokról
ablative mandarintól mandarinoktól
non-attributive
possessive - singular
mandariné mandarinoké
non-attributive
possessive - plural
mandarinéi mandarinokéi
Possessive forms of mandarin
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. mandarinom mandarinjaim
2nd person sing. mandarinod mandarinjaid
3rd person sing. mandarinja mandarinjai
1st person plural mandarinunk mandarinjaink
2nd person plural mandarinotok mandarinjaitok
3rd person plural mandarinjuk mandarinjaik

Etymology 2 edit

An internationalism mainly via German, probably formed as Etymology 1, above, from the yellow colour of the mandarins' costume.

Noun edit

mandarin (plural mandarinok)

  1. mandarin, mandarin orange (fruit)
Declension edit
Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative mandarin mandarinok
accusative mandarint mandarinokat
dative mandarinnak mandarinoknak
instrumental mandarinnal mandarinokkal
causal-final mandarinért mandarinokért
translative mandarinná mandarinokká
terminative mandarinig mandarinokig
essive-formal mandarinként mandarinokként
essive-modal
inessive mandarinban mandarinokban
superessive mandarinon mandarinokon
adessive mandarinnál mandarinoknál
illative mandarinba mandarinokba
sublative mandarinra mandarinokra
allative mandarinhoz mandarinokhoz
elative mandarinból mandarinokból
delative mandarinról mandarinokról
ablative mandarintól mandarinoktól
non-attributive
possessive - singular
mandariné mandarinoké
non-attributive
possessive - plural
mandarinéi mandarinokéi
Possessive forms of mandarin
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. mandarinom mandarinjaim
2nd person sing. mandarinod mandarinjaid
3rd person sing. mandarinja mandarinjai
1st person plural mandarinunk mandarinjaink
2nd person plural mandarinotok mandarinjaitok
3rd person plural mandarinjuk mandarinjaik

References edit

  1. ^ mandarin in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Further reading edit

  • (Chinese government bureaucrat): mandarin in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
  • (mandarin orange): mandarin in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Indonesian edit

 
Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [manˈdarɪn]
  • Hyphenation: man‧da‧rin

Etymology 1 edit

From Portuguese mandarim (mandarin), from Malay menteri (minister), from Sanskrit मन्त्री (mantrī, minister). Doublet of manti, mantri, and menteri.

Noun edit

mandarin (first-person possessive mandarinku, second-person possessive mandarinmu, third-person possessive mandarinnya)

  1. mandarin,
    1. (historical) a high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire [from 1580s].
    2. Mandarin, the language of those official, which is the official language of China and Taiwan.

Etymology 2 edit

From English mandarin (mandarin orange), from French mandarine, feminine of mandarin, probably formed as Etymology 1, above, from the yellow colour of the mandarins' costume.

Noun edit

mandarin (first-person possessive mandarinku, second-person possessive mandarinmu, third-person possessive mandarinnya)

  1. mandarin orange

Further reading edit

Norwegian Bokmål edit

 
Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no
 
Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology edit

From Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, minister, councillor), Malay menteri, manteri, and Portuguese mandarim.

Noun edit

mandarin m (definite singular mandarinen, indefinite plural mandariner, definite plural mandarinene)

  1. (uncountable) Mandarin (official language in China)
  2. a mandarin ((formerly) a Chinese official; (now) a bureaucrat)
  3. (fruit) a mandarin or mandarin orange

References edit

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

 
Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn
 
Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology edit

From Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, minister, councillor), Malay menteri, manteri, and Portuguese mandarim.

Noun edit

mandarin m (definite singular mandarinen, indefinite plural mandarinar, definite plural mandarinane)

  1. (uncountable) Mandarin (official language in China)
  2. a mandarin ((formerly) a Chinese official; (now) a bureaucrat)
  3. (fruit) a mandarin or mandarin orange

References edit

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from French mandarin.

Noun edit

mandarin m (plural mandarini)

  1. mandarin

Declension edit

Serbo-Croatian edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /mandǎriːn/
  • Hyphenation: man‧da‧rin

Noun edit

mandàrīn m (Cyrillic spelling манда̀рӣн)

  1. mandarin (Chinese Imperial bureaucrat)

Declension edit

Swedish edit

Etymology edit

From Portuguese mandarim.

Noun edit

mandarin c or n

  1. (common) mandarin orange
  2. (common, historical) mandarin; a high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire.
  3. (uncountable, neuter) Mandarin

Declension edit

Declension of mandarin 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative mandarin mandarinen mandariner mandarinerna
Genitive mandarins mandarinens mandariners mandarinernas
Declension of mandarin 3
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative mandarin mandarinet
Genitive mandarins mandarinets

Derived terms edit

References edit