Mandarin• I would have been great as a chef, a Mandarin actor, or a fencepost.• The pronunciations given for these components, and for the characters of which they form part, are those of present-dayMandarin.• The most widely spoken of these is Mandarin with about 800m speakers.• Most speak Cantonese, with a little Mandarin and Hakka also spoken.• He was a matinee-handsome man who could have been an actor on the Mandarinstage.• This was before I had the clips that translated into expenseaccounts and hotels like the Shangri-la or the Mandarin.• For you, the MandarinClubguest, breakfast in the morning and cocktails in the evening are with our compliments.
Originmandarin
1. (1700-1800)Frenchmandarine, from Spanishmandarina, probably from mandarín 'MANDARIN3'; perhaps because mandarins wore orange-colored clothes.
2. (1500-1600)Portuguesemandarim, from Malaymenteri, from Sanskritmantrin“adviser”, from mantra; → MANTRA