commissar

[kom-uh-sahr, kom-uh-sahr] Origin

com·mis·sar

[kom-uh-sahr, kom-uh-sahr]
noun
1.
the head of any of the major governmental divisions of the U.S.S.R.: called minister since 1946.
2.
an official in any communist government whose duties include political indoctrination, detection of political deviation, etc.

Origin:
1915–20; < Russian komissár < German Kommissar < Medieval Latin commissārius commissary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Commissar is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
commissar (ˈkɒmɪˌsɑː, ˌkɒmɪˈsɑː)
 
n
1.  Also called: political commissar an official of the Communist Party responsible for political education, esp in a military unit
2.  Also called: People's Commissar, Now called: minister (before 1946) the head of a government department
 
[C20: from Russian kommissar, from German, from Medieval Latin commissāriuscommissary]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

commissar
1918, from Rus. komissar, from Ger. Kommissar "commissioner," ult. from M.L. commissarius (see commissary).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
commissar [(kom-uh-sahr)]

In various communist systems of government, an official assigned to a group to ensure the group's conformity to Communist party doctrine. The heads of government departments in the former Soviet Union were called commissars.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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