/ ˌkɒmɪˈseəriət; NAmE ˌkɑːmɪˈser-/ noun
1.
a department of the army that is responsible for food supplies
2.
a government department in the Soviet Union before 1946
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (as a Scots legal term denoting the area of responsibility of a commissary, often spelled commissariot ): from French commissariat , reinforced by medieval Latin commissariatus , both from medieval Latin commissarius person in charge, from Latin committere entrust.