commissary

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: com=mis=sar=y

CIDE DICTIONARY

commissary, n. [LL. commissarius, fr. L. commissus, p. p. of committere to commit, intrust to. See Commit.].

•  One to whom is committed some charge, duty, or office, by a superior power; a commissioner.  [1913 Webster]

  "Great Destiny, the Commissary of God."  [1913 Webster]
•  An officer of the bishop, who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in parts of the diocese at a distance from the residence of the bishop.  Ayliffe.  [1913 Webster]
•  An officer having charge of a special service; as, the commissary of musters.  [1913 Webster]

  "Washington wrote to the President of Congress . . . urging the appointment of a commissary general, a quartermaster general, a commissary of musters, and a commissary of artillery."  [1913 Webster]

Commissary general, an officer in charge of some special department of army service; as: (a) The officer in charge of the commissariat and transport department, or of the ordnance store department. [Eng.] (b) The commissary general of subsistence. [U. S.] -- Commissary general of subsistence (Mil. U. S.), the head of the subsistence department, who has charge of the purchase and issue of provisions for the army.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

commissary, n. (pl. -ies)
1 a deputy or delegate.
2 a representative or deputy of a bishop.
3 Mil. an officer responsible for the supply of food etc. to soldiers.
4 US a a restaurant in a film studio etc. b the food supplied.
5 US Mil. a store for the supply of food etc. to soldiers.

Derivative

commissarial adj. commissaryship n.

Etymology

ME f. med.L commissarius person in charge (as COMMIT)

THESAURUS

commissary

PX, abundance, accumulation, amassment, backlog, budget, canned foods, canteen, caterer, chandler, collection, commissar, commissariat, commissionaire, commissioner, cornucopia, cumulation, dehydrated foods, delegate, donor, dump, emissary, envoy, food supply, fresh foods, frozen foods, furnisher, groceries, grocery, heap, herald, hoard, inventory, larder, legate, manciple, mass, material, materials, materiel, merchant, messenger, minister, munitions, patron, pile, plenitude, plenty, post exchange, provender, provider, provisioner, provisionment, provisions, purveyor, quartermaster, rations, repertoire, repertory, retailer, rick, secretary, stack, steward, stock, stock clerk, stock-in-trade, stockpile, store, storekeeper, stores, supplier, supplies, supply on hand, sutler, treasure, treasury, victualer, vivandier

ROGET THESAURUS

commissary

Provision

N provision, supply, grist, grist for the mill, subvention, resources, groceries, grocery, providing, purveyance, reinforcement, reenforcement, commissariat, provender, ensilage, viaticum, caterer, purveyor, commissary, quartermaster, manciple, feeder, batman, victualer, grocer, comprador, restaurateur, jackal, pelican, sutler, grocery shop, grocery store.

Consignee

N consignee, trustee, nominee, committee, agent, delegate, commissary, commissioner, emissary, envoy, commissionaire, messenger, diplomatist, diplomat, diplomate, corps diplomatique, embassy, ambassador, embassador, representative, resident, consul, legate, nuncio, internuncio, charge d'affaires, attache, vicegerent, plenipotentiary, functionary, placeman, curator, treasurer, factor, bailiff, clerk, secretary, attorney, advocate, solicitor, proctor, broker, underwriter, commission agent, auctioneer, one's man of business, factotum, caretaker, dalal, dubash, garnishee, gomashta, negotiator, go-between, middleman, under agent, employe, servant, referee, arbitrator, traveler, bagman, commis-voyageur, touter, commercial traveler, drummer, traveling man, newspaper correspondent, own correspondent, special correspondent.