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commissary

 - 3 dictionary results

com⋅mis⋅sar⋅y

  [kom-uh-ser-ee]
Use commissary in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sar⋅ies.
1. a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.
2. a dining room or cafeteria, esp. one in a motion-picture studio.
3. a person to whom some responsibility or role is delegated by a superior power; a deputy.
4. (in France) a police official, usually just below the police chief in rank.
5. commissar.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME commissarie (< AF) < ML commissārius, equiv. to L commiss(us) (ptp. of committere to commit ) + -ārius -ary

Related forms:
com⋅mis⋅sar⋅i⋅al  [kom-i-sair-ee-uhl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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com·mis·sar·y   (kŏm'ĭ-sěr'ē)   
n.   pl. com·mis·sar·ies

    1. A supermarket for military personnel and their dependents, usually located on a military installation.

    2. A store where food and equipment are sold, as in a mining camp.

  2. A lunchroom or cafeteria, especially one in a film or television studio.

  3. A person to whom a special duty is given by a higher authority; a deputy.


[Middle English commissarie, agent, from Medieval Latin commissārius, from Latin commissus, entrusted; see commission.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

commissary 
1362, "one to whom special duty is entrusted by a higher power," from M.L. commissarius, from L. commissus "entrusted," pp. of committere (see commit). Originally ecclesiastical, the military sense of "official in charge of supply of food, stores, transport" dates to 1489.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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