commissary

[ kom-uh-ser-ee ]

/ ˈkɒm əˌsɛr i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR commissary ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural com·mis·sar·ies.

a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.

a dining room or cafeteria, especially one in a motion-picture studio.

a person to whom some responsibility or role is delegated by a superior power; a deputy.

(in France) a police official, usually just below the police chief in rank.

commissar.

RELATED WORDS

legate, representative, agent

Nearby words

commiseration, commish, commissaire, commissar, commissariat, commissary, commission, commission for racial equality, commission house, commission merchant, commission plan

Origin of commissary

1350–1400; Middle English commissarie (< Anglo-French) < Medieval Latin commissārius, equivalent to Latin commiss(us) (past participle of committere to commit) + -ārius -ary

Related formscom·mis·sar·i·al

[kom-i-sair-ee-uh l] /ˌkɒm ɪˈsɛər i əl/, adjectivesub·com·mis·sar·i·al, adjectivesub·com·mis·sar·y, noun, plural sub·com·mis·sar·ies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for commissary

I suspect [Teresa] will get money sent in to her, so she can shop at the commissary.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I don't recall ever seeing him in the commissary, and who would forget?
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To cook the macaroni the commissary sold hotpots, which you needed a permit to possess and could only buy one a time.
Tales of a Jailhouse Gourmet: How I learned to Cook in Prison|Daniel Genis|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the strangest parts of the show, is the power the commissary has over inmates lives.
Best Business Longreads for the Week of August 24, 2013.|William O’Connor|August 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

With generic brand cigarettes sold in commissary for about a dollar each, packs were an effective unit of currency.
With Cigarettes Banned In Most Prisons, Gangs Shift From Drugs To Smokes|Seth Ferranti|June 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Two days afterwards, on the 9th of September, I arrived with the commissary at Milan.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment|Silvio Pellico
His commissary was attached to the Staff of the corps, over which waved the “yellow-blue flag.”
The Russian Turmoil|Anton Ivanovich Denikin
I am Commissary of Police in your district; here are my insignia, sir.
The Princess of Bagdad|Alexandre Dumas
Friar John Tezel, commissary, has signed it with his own hand.
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century (Volume 1)|J. H. Merle D'Aubign
Once, M. de Vauversin visited a commissary of police for permission to sing.
An Inland Voyage|Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for commissary

commissary

/ (ˈkɒmɪsərɪ) /

noun plural -saries

US a shop supplying food or equipment, as in a military camp

US army an officer responsible for supplies and food

US a snack bar or restaurant in a film studio

a representative or deputy, esp an official representative of a bishop

Derived Formscommissarial (ˌkɒmɪˈsɛərɪəl), adjectivecommissaryship, noun

Word Origin for commissary

C14: from Medieval Latin commissārius official in charge, from Latin committere to entrust, commit

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 commissary

commissary

mid-14c., "one to whom special duty is entrusted by a higher power," from Medieval Latin commissarius, from Latin commissus "entrusted," past participle of committere (see commit). Originally ecclesiastical; the military sense of "official in charge of supply of food, stores, transport" dates to late 15c. Hence "storeroom" (1882) and "dining room in a larger facility" (1929, American English).