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According to Wikitionary: From Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri, and its source, Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, “minister, councillor”)
by unmole 8y ago
According to Wikitionary:
From Portuguese mandarim, mandarij, from Malay menteri, manteri, and its source, Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् (mantrin, “minister, councillor”), from मन्त्र (mantra, “counsel, maxim, mantra”) + -इन् (-in, an agent suffix).
Chinese folk etymology sometimes falsely claims that the word originates from 滿大人 (Mǎndàrén, literally “Manchu important man”).
- yorwba 8y agoThanks for the correction. The Wiktionary article doesn't cite any sources, but the etymology sections are usually reliable, so I guess I'll trust it over my Chinese teacher.