man·da·rin 
(măndə-rĭn)
(măndə-rĭn)n.
1. A member of any of the nine ranks of high public officials in the Chinese Empire.
2. A high government official or bureaucrat.
3. A member of an elite group, especially a person having influence or high status in intellectual or cultural circles.
4. A mandarin orange.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or resembling a mandarin.
2. Marked by elaborate and refined language or literary style.
[From Spanish mandarín, from Portuguese mandarim, from Malay menteri, from Sanskrit mantrī, mantrin-, counselor, from mantraḥ, counsel; see men-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]