commissariat

[kom-uh-sair-ee-uh t]

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.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for commissariat

Historical Examples of commissariat

Our men lacked for nothing: the commissariat was managed admirably.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka
He also contracted to supply the commissariat, which he did with advantage to the army and profit to himself.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
The commissariat was demoralised, and supplies were not forthcoming.
The Trampling of the Lilies
Rafael Sabatini
Huge trains of the commissariat were continually on the road.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 57, No. 351, January 1845
Various
The one was the commissariat department; the other was the fighting line.
History of the Moravian Church
J. E. Hutton

British Dictionary definitions for commissariat

commissariat

noun

(in the former Soviet Union) a government department before 1946Now called: ministry
1. a military department in charge of food supplies, equipment, etc
2. 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

Word Origin and History for commissariat

c.1600, in Scottish law, "commissary court," from French commissariat, from Medieval Latin *commissariatus, from commissarius (see commissary). Military use is from 1779. In reference to the USSR, "ministry," from 1918.