commissariat

[ kom-uh-sair-ee-uht ]

/ ˌkɒm əˈsɛər i ət /

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noun

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.

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Origin of commissariat

1600–10; <New Latin commissāriātus, equivalent to Medieval Latin commissāri(us) commissary + -ātus-ate³; (def. 1) <Russian komissariát ≪ New Latin, as above

Words nearby commissariat

commiserate, commiseration, commish, commissaire, commissar, commissariat, commissary, commission, commissionaire, commissioned officer, commissioner

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use commissariat in a sentence

All were badly and insufficiently fed, as much from disorganized commissariat arrangements as from actual want of supplies.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
By some extraordinary blunder of the commissariat the 32d had set forth that morning without breaking their fast.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
What can they do without a commissariat, what can they do without pay, and who is to pay them in a bankrupt nation?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The French, on the contrary, gave cheques on their commissariat chest at Varna, which were only payable on presentation there.
The British Expedition to the Crimea|William Howard Russell

A few days afterwards I received permission to draw rations from the commissariat, by order of the Secretary of State.
The British Expedition to the Crimea|William Howard Russell

British Dictionary definitions for commissariat

commissariat

/ (ˌkɒmɪˈsɛərɪət) /

noun

(in the former Soviet Union) a government department before 1946Now called: ministry

a military department in charge of food supplies, equipment, etc
the offices of such a department

food supplies

Word Origin for commissariat

C17: from New Latin commissāriātus, from Medieval Latin commissārius commissary

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012