commissariat

American  

[kom-uh-sair-ee-uht] / ˌkɒm əˈsɛər i ət /

noun

1. any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called ministry since 1946.

2. the organized method or manner by which food, equipment, transport, etc., is delivered to armies.

3. the department of an army charged with supplying provisions.

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commissariat British  

/ ˌkɒmɪˈsɛərɪət /

noun

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

2. 1. a military department in charge of food supplies, equipment, etc

   2. the offices of such a department

3. food supplies

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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

The commissariat held 38 women, it said, some of whom slept in the chief's office overnight under police supervision, where other detainees were permitted "a breather" during the day.

From Reuters

And in his summoning of the nation to seriousness, he is scalding about the Defense Department’s “woke commissariat.”

From Washington Post

Across from the town’s voenkomat, or military commissariat, the cream-colored walls on Lenin Street are smeared haphazardly with gobs of white paint.

From New York Times

Last week at a voenkomat, or military commissariat, in northwestern Moscow, wives, mothers, and children gathered to say goodbye to loved ones being shipped off to fight.

From New York Times

But there have been multiple reports of military commissariats deploying soldiers to the front just days after they were summoned.

From Washington Post