Word of the Day - Mandarin

mandarin

/ˈmand(ə)rɪn/
noun

1 mass noun The standard literary and official form of Chinese, spoken by over 730 million people.
2 An official in any of the nine top grades of the former imperial Chinese civil service.
2.1 as modifier (of clothing) characteristic of a former Chinese mandarin.
2.2 A porcelain ornament consisting of a nodding figure in traditional Chinese costume.
2.3 mass noun Porcelain decorated with Chinese figures dressed as mandarins.
3 A powerful official or senior bureaucrat, especially one perceived as reactionary and secretive.

Origin
Late 16th century (denoting a Chinese official): from Portuguese mandarim, via Malay from Hindi mantrī ‘counsellor’.

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"Clothes make the man", a common aphorism, never more true than regarding mandarin officials.