commissary

A commissary is an official or facility involved in provisioning and the distribution of goods for a defined group, most notably military personnel. In its historical sense, a commissary is an official appointed to oversee provisioning, supply, or procurement for a government or military organization. The word derives from the French commissaire and Medieval Latin commissarius, ultimately from Latin committere, meaning to entrust. Historically, a commissary could be a deputy or agent entrusted with duties such as subsistence and transport.

In modern military usage, a commissary can refer to both an administrative office and a retail facility. The office or department is responsible for procuring and distributing food, household goods, and equipment. In the United States, the Defense Commissary Agency operates a chain of commissaries on military installations, selling groceries and related items to service members and their families; these stores are separate from military exchanges. Other armed forces have analogous provisioning systems, sometimes called commissariats or commissary departments.

In correctional facilities, a commissary is a store through which inmates may purchase food, personal care items, and other goods using funds from their inmate accounts, subject to facility rules and approvals. Prison commissaries are typically administered by the facility or a contracted vendor and operate with restricted inventories.

Historically, the term also referred to the governmental department or office responsible for provisioning in armies and colonial administrations, sometimes known as the commissariat.