tangerine
noun
Did you know?
When tangerine was first used in the mid-19th century it was an adjective we'd borrowed from French to describe people or things from or relating to the Moroccan city of Tangier. (The French name for "Tangier" is Tanger.) Within about a hundred years the noun tangerine was being used to refer to the fruit we now know by that name. Although tangerines were at one time thought to be native to Morocco, they are now thought to be indigenous to southeast Asia. As our definition explains, tangerines are technically a kind of mandarin orange-and mandarin is another word we got from the French. The French mandarine is most likely originally from the Portuguese word mandarim, which etymologists believe is probably from the color of a Chinese mandarin's robes.
Examples of tangerine in a Sentence
Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
Gefen’s favorite is his 1972 Saab Sonett, a coupe the color of a tangerine and whose motor roars—half ferociously, half pathetically—like a dying lion.
—Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2024
Their Puligny-Montrachet has ethereal aromas of crushed river stones, lemon curd, and a touch of white peach with flavors of orange blossom, candied lemon peel, and tangerine.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 2 Jan. 2025
But fans from the 1990s are now enthralled by a different kind of storytelling: Stern is documenting daily life on his farm on social media, bringing his Instagram and TikTok followers along for his tangerine harvest and juicing, and offering a behind-the-scenes look at his art studio.
—Remy Tumin, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tangerine 
Dictionary Entries Near tangerine
Cite this Entry
“Tangerine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangerine. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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tangerine
noun
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