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Reference.org
Commissary
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<p> A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. </p><p>In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often corresponds to the command of a police station, which is then known as a "<a href="/facts/Commissariat/cddPLC4d">commissariat</a>". In some armed forces, commissaries are officials charged with overseeing the purchase and delivery of supplies, and they have powers of administrative and financial oversight. Then, the "<a href="/facts/Commissariat/cddPLC4d">commissariat</a>" is the organization associated with the corps of commissaries. By extension, the term "<a href="/facts/Commissary_(store)/VMIJhcLX">commissary</a>" came to be used for the building where supplies were disbursed. </p><p>In some countries, both roles are used; for example, <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> uses "<a href="/facts/Police_Commissary/wNTgN1Nn">police commissaries</a>" (<i>commissaires de police</i>) in the <a href="/facts/French_National_Police/nWKoluKW">French National Police</a> and "armed forces commissaries" (<i>commissaires des armées</i>) in the <a href="/facts/French_armed_forces/ppR551YN">French armed forces</a>. </p><p>The equivalent terms are <i>commissaire</i> in French, <i>commissario</i> in Italian, <i>Kommissar</i> in Standard German, <i>Kommissär</i> in Swiss German and Luxembourgish, <i>comisario</i> in Spanish, <i>commissaris</i> in Dutch and Flemish, <i>komisario</i> in Finnish, <i>komisarz</i> in Polish and <i>comissário</i> in Portuguese. In many instances these words may also be the equivalent to <a href="/facts/Commissioner/J0tFmn7P">commissioner</a>, depending on the context. </p>