commissariat
Americannoun
-
any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called ministry since 1946.
-
the organized method or manner by which food, equipment, transport, etc., is delivered to armies.
-
the department of an army charged with supplying provisions.
noun
-
Now called: ministry. (in the former Soviet Union) a government department before 1946
-
-
a military department in charge of food supplies, equipment, etc
-
the offices of such a department
-
-
food supplies
Etymology
Origin of commissariat
1600–10; < New Latin commissāriātus, equivalent to Medieval Latin commissāri ( us ) commissary + -ātus -ate 3; commissariat ( def. 1 ) < Russian komissariát ≪ New Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He had bad news from the Military Commissariat.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 16, 2023
When his attempt to get civil servant status failed in a series of court cases, he started calling himself Chancellor of the Reich and his home the Commissariat of the Imperial Government.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2022
Josef Stalin sought to build a skyscraper on the site, much like the “Seven Sisters” erected across the city, intended to house the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Machinery.
From Economist • Oct. 25, 2017
The Commissariat of Enlightenment by Sheila Fitzpatrick A riveting account of the institution that implemented the cultural and educational policies of the revolution after 1917.
From The Guardian • Apr. 12, 2017
Our economic centres—the Supreme Economic Council, the People's Commissariat for Agriculture, the People's Commissariat for Ways and Communications, the People's Commissariat for Food—work out estimates of the labor-power they require.
From Dictatorship vs. Democracy (Terrorism and Communism) by Trotzky, Leon Davidovich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
