What does "mandarinate" mean?
The status of holding a position as a mandarin.
Mandarinate
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The status of holding a position as a mandarin.
- Grammar: mandarinate is listed as noun.
- Usage evidence: As higher education, claiming more and more years of one’s life, widens the space between those who possess it and those who do not, and as the enlightenment of the public wanes relatively to the superior enlightenment of the learned castes and professions, the mandarinate will infallibly draw to itself a greater and greater share of social power.
How to use "mandarinate"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mandarinate" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The status of holding a position as a mandarin. obsolete
- 2 The collective body of mandarins.
"As higher education, claiming more and more years of one’s life, widens the space between those who possess it and those who do not, and as the enlightenment of the public wanes relatively to the superior enlightenment of the learned castes and professions, the mandarinate will infallibly draw to itself a greater and greater share of social power."
- 3 A political form of rule by mandarins.
- 4 A type of government marked by excessive bureaucracy and Byzantine regulations. figuratively
"Far from being a model of democracy, the EU is associated with an arrogant, out-of-touch mandarinate that issues rules and edicts with paternalistic and highhanded disregard for ordinary citizens."
Example
"As higher education, claiming more and more years of one’s life, widens the space between those who possess it and those who do not, and as the enlightenment of the public wanes relatively to the superior enlightenment of the learned castes and professions, the mandarinate will infallibly draw to itself a greater and greater share of social power."
Common questions
How do you use "mandarinate" in a sentence?
As higher education, claiming more and more years of one’s life, widens the space between those who possess it and those who do not, and as the enlightenment of the public wanes relatively to the superior enlightenment of the learned castes and professions, the mandarinate will infallibly draw to itself a greater and greater share of social power.
Etymology
From French mandarinat, corresponding to mandarin + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a body of people performing it, the concrete charge of it).