mandarin: [16] Although it refers to a Chinese official, mandarin is not a Chinese word. Sanskrit mantrin meant ‘counsellor’ (it was a derivative of mantra ‘counsel’, which itself was based on man ‘think’, a distant relative of English mind). Its Hindi descendant mantrī passed into English via Malay m?teri and Portuguese mandarin. The word’s application to a variety of small loose-skinned orange, which dates in English from the 19th century, was inspired by the yellow robes worn by mandarins. => mind
mandarin (n.)
"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.)).
Form 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.
雙語例句
1. Measures are taken to battle rising mandarin crime.
已經采取了措施來打擊官員中不斷上升的犯罪行為.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
2. Mandarin Chinese has four tones.
漢語有四聲.
來自辭典例句
3. I speak the Shanghai dialect and the Mandarin.
我會講上海話,普通話.
來自辭典例句
4. It was not long before he spoke Mandarin, with a trace of the soft Soochow tones.
沒有多久,他就說上一口北京話, 帶有一些甜絲絲的蘇州音.
來自辭典例句
5. Chinese immigrants should count their Blessings if their children could speak Mandarin.