What is "mandarin"

Mandarin \Man`da*rin"\, n. [Pg. mandarim, from Malay mantr[=i] minister of state, prop. a Hind. word, fr. Skr. mantrin a counselor, manira a counsel, man to think.]

1. A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam.

2. Hence: A powerful government official or bureaucrat, especially one who is pedantic and has a strong sense of his own importance and privelege.

3. Hence: A member of an influential, powerful or elite group, espcially within artistic or intellectual circles; -- used especially of elder members who are traditionalist or conservative about their specialties.

   5. The form of the Chinese language spoken by members of the Chinese Imperial Court an officials of the empire.

   6. Any of several closely related dialects of the Chinese language spoken by a mojority of the population of China, the standard variety of which is spoken in the region around Beijing.

   7. (Bot.) A small flattish reddish-orange loose-skinned orange, with an easily separable rind. It is thought to be of Chinese origin, and is counted a distinct species ( Citrus reticulata formerly Citrus nobilis); called also mandarin orange and tangerine.

   Mandarin language, the spoken or colloquial language of educated people in China.

   Mandarin yellow (Chem.), an artificial aniline dyestuff used for coloring silk and wool, and regarded as a complex derivative of quinoline.

"Chinese official," 1580s, via Portuguese mandarim or older Dutch mandorijn from Malay mantri, from Hindi mantri "councilor, minister of state," from Sanskrit mantri, nominative of mantrin- "advisor," from mantra "counsel," from PIE root *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)).\n

\nForm influenced in Portuguese by mandar "to command, order." Used generically for the several grades of Chinese officials; sense of "chief dialect of Chinese" (spoken by officials and educated people) 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.

Etymology 1 a. Pertaining to or reminiscent of mandarins; deliberately superior or complex; esoteric, highbrow, obscurantist. (from 20th c.) n. 1 (context historical English) A high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire. 2 A pedantic or elitist bureaucrat. 3 (context often pejorative English) A pedantic senior person of influence in academia or literary circles. 4 A mandarin duck. 5 (context informal British English) A senior civil servant. Etymology 2

n. 1 A mandarin orange; a small, sweet citrus fruit. 2 A mandarin orange tree, ''Citrus reticulata''. 3 An orange colour.

1. n. shrub or small tree having flattened globose fruit with very sweet aromatic pulp and thin yellow-orange to flame-orange rind that is loose and easily removed; native to southeastern Asia [syn: mandarin orange, mandarin orange tree, Citrus reticulata]

2. a member of an elite intellectual or cultural group

3. any high government official or bureaucrat

4. a high public official of imperial China

5. a somewhat flat reddish-orange loose-skinned citrus of China [syn: mandarin orange]

6. the dialect of Chinese spoken in Beijing and adopted as the official language for all of China [syn: Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin dialect, Beijing dialect]

Mandarin may refer to:

A mandarin ( Chinese: , guān; Cantonese: gūn; ) was a bureaucrat scholar in the government of imperial China.

The term is generally applied to the officials appointed through the imperial examination system; it sometimes includes and sometimes excludes the eunuchs also involved in the governance of the two realms.

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Mandarin is a lengthy Robert Elegant novel published by Simon & Schuster in 1983. It is set in China during the Taiping Rebellion.

Mandarin was the common spoken language of administration of the Chinese empire during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It arose as a practical measure, to circumvent the mutual unintelligibility of the varieties of Chinese spoken in different parts of China. Knowledge of this language was thus essential for an official career, but it was never formally defined. The language was a koiné based on Mandarin dialects, initially those spoken around Nanjing but later switching to Beijing, and developed into Standard Chinese in the 20th century.

The Mandarin is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the archenemy of Iron Man.

The character was created by Stan Lee and designed by Don Heck, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #50 (February 1964). The character is described as being born in China before the Communist revolution, to a wealthy Chinese father and an English aristocratic mother, both of whom died when he was very young. He is characterised as a megalomaniac, attempting to conquer the world on several occasions, yet also possessing a strong sense of honor.

The Mandarin is portrayed as a genius scientist and a superhumanly skilled martial artist. However, his primary sources of power are ten power rings that he adapted from the alien technology of a crashed space ship. Each ring has a different power and is worn on a specific finger.

In other media, the Mandarin has been shown in several forms of animation and computer games. A version of the character loosely serves as the main villain of the 2013 film Iron Man 3. In 2009, Mandarin was ranked as IGN's 81st Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Mandarin is a neighborhood located in the southernmost portion of Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida, United States. It is located on the eastern banks of the St. Johns River, across from Orange Park. Mandarin was named after the mandarin orange in 1830 by Calvin Reed, a prominent resident of the area .

Once called "a tropical paradise" by author Harriett Beecher Stowe, the quaint area of Mandarin is marked by its history, ancient oak trees draped with Spanish moss, beautiful parks, marinas and more water views than any other area in Jacksonville. In the 19th century, Mandarin was a small farming village that shipped oranges, grapefruit, lemons and other fruits and vegetables to Jacksonville and points north on the steamships that traveled the St. Johns River. In 1864, the Union steamship, the Maple Leaf, hit a Confederate mine and sank just off Mandarin Point.

Just a short drive south of Jacksonville's city center, the community is bordered by Beauclerc to the north, Julington Creek to the south and St. John's River to the west.