commissariat

 
Pronunciation: /ˌkɒmɪˈsɛːrɪət/

noun

  • 1chiefly Military a department for the supply of food and equipment.
  • 2a government department of the USSR before 1946.

Origin:

late 16th century (as a Scots legal term denoting the jurisdiction 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'