Mandarin /(?)/

Man·da·rin

Mandarin

n.
  1. A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam.
  2. A powerful government official or bureaucrat, especially one who is pedantic and has a strong sense of his own importance and privelege.
  3. 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.
  4. The form of the Chinese language spoken by members of the Chinese Imperial Court an officials of the empire.
  5. 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.
  6. 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. (Bot.)

Phrases & Compounds
Mandarin language
the spoken or colloquial language of educated people in China.
Mandarin yellow
an artificial aniline dyestuff used for coloring silk and wool, and regarded as a complex derivative of quinoline.