What does "mansion" mean?

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“Dinh phu” is a Vietnamese word of Chinese origin, in which the word “dinh” 營 (one sound is “doanh”) is explained by the Chinese dictionary as “Hoan nhiu cu; tu vi luy tho nhi cu - 環繞而居;四圍壘土而居”, meaning “Surrounded to live; built up with soil to cover around to live”. The word dinh/doanh in “dinh phu” therefore also appears in “dinh luy”, “doanh trai”,... The word “thu” 署 in “dinh phu” refers to public buildings, public offices; guard posts, guard posts, or military bases.

With the word "mansion" 營署, the Chinese dictionary explains 2 meanings:

1. “Cửu thoi dinh ky dich phuong thu - 舊時營妓的坊署, meaning “Referring to the place where prostitutes lived in the barracks in ancient times”.

The two words “dinh ky” here refer to female prostitutes serving soldiers in the ancient Chinese army (established by the imperial court). The great Chinese dictionary cites a series of documents such as: “Song Shu - Later Deposed Emperor’s Chronicle: “Wanting to gradually become indulgent, the Imperial Concubine could no longer stop him. He only brought a few attendants, abandoned the army, and either went ten miles or twenty miles, or into the city or to the mansions, returning at night.”; “Nam Su - Qi Ky Ha - Deposed Emperor Yu Lin Wang: “The king was alone in Xichuan, every night he opened the back door of the palace, and together with a group of dishonest people, went to the mansions to indulge in banquets and drinking.”

2. “Only the houses and offices in the barracks - 指營舍官署” means “Only the houses and offices in the barracks”. The Chinese dictionary quotes the following data: “Book of Southern Tang: “In March, a great fire broke out in Jiankang, which lasted for more than a month, and almost all the houses and residences were burned down”.

Thus, in Chinese, “dinh phu” 營署 has two main meanings: 1- Refers to the residence and activities of prostitutes serving in military barracks; 2- Refers to barracks, offices, or administrative agencies in military barracks.

In Vietnamese, “dinh phu” is interpreted by most Vietnamese dictionaries as a large house for officials to live in. For example, the Vietnamese Dictionary (Hoang Phe - Vietlex) explains “dinh phu: a large, beautiful and spacious house reserved for officials and high-ranking civil servants” and gives the example “The autumn sky is beautiful, the golden light shines down on the roofs of castles and mansions.” (Nguyen Huy Tuong).

Related to the meaning of the word “dinh” 營, in Vietnamese there is also “tu dinh” 私營 which means the private residence of an official; “dinh co” 營基 = house, large property,... Related to the word “thu” 署 there is also “quan thu” 官署 = the residence of an official, part of the state's public property; “cong thu” 公署 = a large building used as an office,...

Thus, “dinh phu” in Vietnamese was originally used to refer to large, beautiful and spacious houses reserved for officials and high-ranking civil servants (old meaning). Nowadays, “dinh phu” is often used to refer to large, majestic houses with impressive and luxurious architecture of the upper class, officials or wealthy people. Accordingly, “dinh phu” tends to describe private homes (large-scale villas) rather than public agencies, although in terms of Chinese origin as mentioned above, “dinh phu” 營署 originally meant public offices, government offices; houses reserved for officials and high-ranking civil servants.

Man Nong (CTV)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dinh-thu-nbsp-nghia-la-gi-260690.htm