Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1580s (official), 1800s (fruit)
Mandarin
from mandarim
- Meaning
- A small citrus fruit; a Chinese bureaucrat or language.
- Source word
- mandarim
- Route into English
- Sanskrit *mantri* (counsellor) → Malay *mantri* → Portuguese *mandarim* (used of Ming officials) → English. The fruit is named after the colour of mandarin officials' robes; the language is named after the officials' speech.
- Arrived
- 1580s (official), 1800s (fruit)
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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