Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The office or authority of a mandarin.
  • noun The whole body of mandarins; mandarins collectively.
  • noun The jurisdiction or district of a mandarin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The collective body of officials or persons of rank in China.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The collective body of officials (mandarins) or persons of rank in historical China.
  • noun A political form of rule by mandarins
  • noun The status of holding a position as a mandarin.
  • noun figuratively A type of government marked by excessive bureaucracy and Byzantine regulations.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

mandarin +‎ -ate

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