Before revision: Modern dictionaries, however, agree that it was in fact borrowed by Portuguese from the Malay menteri (in Jawi: , ) which ultimately came from the Sanskrit mantri (Devanagari: , meaning counselor or minister – etymologically linked to mantra).Mandarin, Online Etymology DictionaryMandarin Merriam-Webster"mandarin", According to Malaysian scholar Ungku Abdul Aziz, the term had its origin when the Portuguese living in Malacca during the Malacca Sultanate traveled to meet with higher officials in China and referred to them with the familiar term "menteri", but with an added "n" because of their poor grasp of the language .
After revision: Modern dictionaries, however, agree that it was in fact borrowed by Portuguese from the Malay menteri (in Jawi: , ) which ultimately came from the Sanskrit mantri (Devanagari: , meaning counselor or minister – etymologically linked to mantra).Mandarin, Online Etymology DictionaryMandarin Merriam-Webster"mandarin", According to Malaysian scholar Ungku Abdul Aziz, the term had its origin when the Portuguese living in Malacca during the Malacca Sultanate traveled to meet with higher officials in China and referred to them with the familiar term "menteri", but pronounced with Old Portuguese phonology, , where the vowel ending was nasalized and later interpreted to have ended with "n" due to the nasalized pronunciation of the Portuguese .