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mandarin +‎ -ate


mandarinate ‎(plural mandarinates)

  1. The collective body of officials (mandarins) or persons of rank in historical China.
  2. A political form of rule by mandarins
  3. The status of holding a position as a mandarin.
  4. (figuratively) A type of government marked by excessive bureaucracy and Byzantine regulations.
    • 2011, Ian Buruma, Europe without Turkey:
      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.