(in the Chinese Empire) a member of any of the nine ranks of public officials, each distinguished by a particular kind of button worn on the cap.
(initial capital letter) the standard Chinese language.
(initial capital letter) a northern Chinese dialect, especially as spoken in and around Beijing.
a small, spiny citrus tree, Citrus reticulata, native to China, bearing lance-shaped leaves and flattish, orange-yellow to deep-orange loose-skinned fruit, some varieties of which are called tangerines.
any of several plants belonging to the genus Disporum or Streptopus, of the lily family, as S. roseus(rose mandarin ) or D. lanuginosum(yellow mandarin ), having drooping flowers and red berries.
an influential or powerful government official or bureaucrat.
a member of an elite or powerful group or class, as in intellectual or cultural milieus: the mandarins of the art world.
adjective
of or relating to a mandarin or mandarins.
elegantly refined, as in language or taste.
Origin of mandarin
1580–90; <Portuguese mandarim, alteration (by association with mandar to order) of Malay məntəri<Hindi mantrī,Sanskrit mantrin councilor