| mandarin | 1. A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam. 2. <botany> A small orange, with easily separable rind. It is thought to be of Chinese origin, and is counted a distinct species (Citrus nobilis). <chemistry> Mandarin duck, an artificial aniline dyestuff used for colouring silk and wool, and regarded as a complex derivative of quinoline. Origin: Pg. Mandarim, from Malay mantri minister of state, prop. A Hind. Word, fr. Skr. Mantrin a counselor, manira a counsel, man to think. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| mandarining | The process of giving an orange colour to goods formed of animal tissue, as silk or wool, not by colouring matter, but by producing a certain change in the fibre by the action of dilute nitric acid. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |