[man.da.rin] n [Pg mandarim, fr. Malay menteri, fr. Skt mantrin counselor, fr. mantra counsel--more at mantra] (1589) 1 a: a public official in the Chinese Empire of any of nine superior grades b (1): a pedantic official (2): bureaucrat c: a person of position and influence often in intellectual or literary circles; esp: an elder and often traditionalist or reactionary member of such a circle
2. cap a: a form of spoken Chinese used by the court and the official classes of the Empire b: the group of closely related Chinese dialects that are spoken in about four fifths of the country and have a standard variety centering about Beijing 3 [F mandarine, fr. Sp mandarina, prob. fr. mandarin mandarin, fr. Pg mandarim; prob. fr. the color of a mandarin's robes] a: a small spiny orange tree (Citrus reticulata) of southeastern Asia with yellow to reddish orange loose-rinded fruits; also: a derivative of this tree developed in cultivation by artificial selection or hybridization b: the fruit of a mandarin -- man.da.rin.ic adj -- man.da.rin.ism n
[2]mandarin adj (1604) 1: of, relating to, or typical of a mandarin "~ graces"
2: marked by polished ornate complexity of language "~ prose"