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n. 1. A member of any of the nine ranks of high public officials in the Chinese Empire. 2. A high government official or bureaucrat. 3. A member of an elite group, especially a person having influence or high status in intellectual or cultural circles. 4. A mandarin orange. adj. 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a mandarin. 2. Marked by elaborate and refined language or literary style. [From Spanish mandarín, from Portuguese mandarim, from Malay menteri, from Sanskrit mantrī, mantrin-, counselor, from mantraḥ, counsel; see men-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
