Where does “mandarin” come from?
Mandarin comes from French mandarine, from French mandarin, from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् meaning counselor or minister, from Proto-Indo-European men- meaning to think or remember.
mandarin (English): a high government bureaucrat of the Chinese...
Definitions
- a high government bureaucrat of the Chinese...
Ancestry of “mandarin”, step by step
mandarin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Portuguese mandarim
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | mandarim | mandarin; Mandarin |
| 2 | Malay | menteri | minister, vizier; minister, a politician who... |
| 3 | Hindi | मन्त्रि | — |
| 4 | Sanskrit | मन्त्रिन् | Minister, councilor, counselor, scholar |
| 5 | Sanskrit | मन्त्र | sacred text or speech; a prayer or song of praise... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | *mántras | meditation, chanting |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | men- | to think, mind; spiritual activity; to stay,... |