Advertisement

Origin and history of mandarin

mandarin(n.)

1580s, "Chinese official," via Portuguese mandarim or older Dutch mandorijn from Malay (Austronesian) mantri, from Hindi mantri "councilor, minister of state," from Sanskrit mantri, nominative of mantrin- "adviser," from mantra "counsel," from PIE root *men- (1) "to think." Form influenced in Portuguese by mandar "to command, order."

Used generically for the several grades of Chinese officials; the Chinese equivalent is kwan "public servant." Sense of "chief dialect of Chinese" (spoken by officials and educated people and generally in the northern, central, and western provinces and Manchuria) is from c. 1600. Transferred sense of "important person" attested by 1907. The type of small, deep-colored orange so called from 1771, from resemblance of its color to that of robes worn by mandarins.

also from 1580s

Entries linking to mandarin

palanquin(n.)

"a covered litter, generally for one person, used in India and elsewhere in the East, borne by means of poles on the shoulders of four or six men," 1580s, from Portuguese palanquim (early 16c.), from Malay and Javanese palangki "litter, sedan," ultimately from Sanskrit palyanka-s "couch, bed, litter," from pari "around" + ancati "it bends, curves," related to anka-s "a bend, hook, angle," and meaning, perhaps, "that which bends around the body." Some have noted the "curious coincidence" of Spanish palanca, from Latin phalanga "pole to carry a burden." "The final nasal appears to have been a Portuguese addition as in mandarin, and is often absent from the forms given by early travellers ..." [OED].

tourmaline(n.)

brittle crystalline mineral, complete silicate of aluminum and boron, originally obtained from Ceylon, 1759, from French or German, said to be ultimately from Sinhalese toramalli, a general name for cornelian. OED (1989) writes that "the original of the European final -n(e is obscure," and compares mandarin.

*men-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to think," with derivatives referring to qualities and states of mind or thought.

It might form all or part of: admonish; Ahura Mazda; ament; amentia; amnesia; amnesty; anamnesis; anamnestic; automatic; automaton; balletomane; comment; compos mentis; dement; demonstrate; Eumenides; idiomatic; maenad; -mancy; mandarin; mania; maniac; manic; mantic; mantis; mantra; memento; mens rea; mental; mention; mentor; mind; Minerva; minnesinger; mnemonic; Mnemosyne; money; monition; monitor; monster; monument; mosaic; Muse; museum; music; muster; premonition; reminiscence; reminiscent; summon.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit manas- "mind, spirit," matih "thought," munih "sage, seer;" Avestan manah- "mind, spirit;" Greek memona "I yearn," mania "madness," mantis "one who divines, prophet, seer;" Latin mens "mind, understanding, reason," memini "I remember," mentio "remembrance;" Lithuanian mintis "thought, idea," Old Church Slavonic mineti "to believe, think," Russian pamjat "memory;" Gothic gamunds, Old English gemynd "memory, remembrance; conscious mind, intellect."

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    tea
    word reflect two paths of transmission: chaa is from Portuguese cha, attested in Portuguese from 1550s, via Macao, from Mandarin...became Modern English tea, is via Dutch, from Malay teh and directly from Chinese (Amoy dialect) t'e, which corresponds to Mandarin...Meanwhile, Russian chai, Persian cha, Greek tsai, Arabic shay, and Turkish çay all came overland from the Mandarin form....
    running
    recorded by 1937, from Chinese and later North Korean communist phrases used to describe supposed imperialist lackeys, such as Mandarin...
    official
    early 14c., "minor ecclesiastical court officer" (mid-13c. as a surname), from Old French oficial "law officer; bishop's representative" (12c.) and directly from Late Latin officialis "attendant to a magistrate, public official," noun use of officialis (adj.) "of or belonging to
    citrus
    any tree of the genus Citrus, or its fruit, 1825, from the Modern Latin genus name, from Latin citrus "citron tree," the name of an African tree with aromatic wood and lemon-like fruit, the first citrus fruit to become available in the West. The name, like the tree, is probably o
    rustic
    mid-15c., rustik, "associated with the country, rural," from Latin rusticus "of the country, rural; country-like, plain, simple, rough, coarse, awkward," from rus (genitive ruris) "open land, country" (see rural). From 1580s, of persons, "having the look and manner of country fol
    Chinese
    "of or pertaining to China," 1570s, from China + -ese. As a noun from c. 1600. Chinee (n.) is a vulgar back-formation from this word on the mistaken notion that Chinese is a plural. As an adjective, Chinian, Chinish also were used 16c. Chinese fire-drill "chaotic situation of man
    clementine
    "small citrus fruit, a cross between a tangerine and a sour orange," 1926, from French clémentine (1902). Originally an accidental hybrid said to have been cultivated from c. 1900 by (and named for) Father Clement Rodier in the garden of his orphanage in Misserghin, near Oran, Al
    tangerine
    deep-colored variety of orange, 1842, from tangerine orange (1820) "an orange from Tangier," important seaport in northern Morocco, from which it was imported to Britain originally. As an adjective (with capital T-) meaning "from or relating to Tangier," it is attested from 1710,
    mantra
    1808, "that part of the Vedas which contains hymns," from Sanskrit mantra-s "sacred message or text, charm, spell, counsel," literally "instrument of thought," related to manyate "thinks," from PIE root *men- (1) "to think." Meaning "sacred text used as a charm or incantation" is
    orange
    late 14c., in reference to the fruit of the orange tree (late 13c. as a surname), from Old French orange, orenge (12c., Modern French orange), from Medieval Latin pomum de orenge, from Italian arancia, originally narancia (Venetian naranza), an alteration of Arabic naranj, from P

    Share mandarin

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near mandarin
    Advertisement