commissariat
noun
com·mis·sar·i·at ˌkä-mə-ˈser-ē-ət 
especially for sense 3 -ˈsär-
1
: a system for supplying an army with food
2
: food supplies
3
[borrowed from Russian komissariat, borrowed from German Kommissariat, borrowed from Medieval Latin commissāriātus] : a government department in the Soviet Union until 1946
4
: a board of commissioners
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web To his left, a man from the military commissariat began to speak with the air of routine. 
Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2022 Stripped of its bureaucratic language and moral statement, this is a proposal for an enormously powerful, unelected commissariat to exercise dictatorial control over American politics. Grayson Quay, The Week, 13 Feb. 2022 The commissariat for French Polynesia said all those aboard the Paul Gauguin cruise ship are being tested and will be kept in their cabins Monday pending the results. Author: Jan Olsen, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2020 The commissariat for French Polynesia said all those aboard the Paul Gauguin cruise ship are being tested and will be kept in their cabins Monday pending the results. Jan M. Olsen, The Denver Post, 3 Aug. 2020 His regime is currently resurrecting a Soviet commissariat (or a new Gestapo) to police the political reliability of the regular army. Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 13 Mar. 2018 The European Union’s antitrust commissariat ruled that the Luxembourg government must collect €250 million ($294 million) in back taxes from the online retailer. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 4 Oct. 2017 See More
Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2022 Stripped of its bureaucratic language and moral statement, this is a proposal for an enormously powerful, unelected commissariat to exercise dictatorial control over American politics. Grayson Quay, The Week, 13 Feb. 2022 The commissariat for French Polynesia said all those aboard the Paul Gauguin cruise ship are being tested and will be kept in their cabins Monday pending the results. Author: Jan Olsen, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2020 The commissariat for French Polynesia said all those aboard the Paul Gauguin cruise ship are being tested and will be kept in their cabins Monday pending the results. Jan M. Olsen, The Denver Post, 3 Aug. 2020 His regime is currently resurrecting a Soviet commissariat (or a new Gestapo) to police the political reliability of the regular army. Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 13 Mar. 2018 The European Union’s antitrust commissariat ruled that the Luxembourg government must collect €250 million ($294 million) in back taxes from the online retailer. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 4 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Medieval Latin commissāriātus "office of a commissary," from commissārius commissary + Latin -ātus -ate entry 2
First Known Use
1710, in the meaning defined at sense 1