Main Entry: com·mis·sar

Pronunciation: \ˈkä-mə-ˌsär\

Function: noun

Etymology: Russian komissar, from German Kommissar, from Medieval Latin commissarius

Date: 1918

1 a : a Communist party official assigned to a military unit to teach party principles and policies and to ensure party loyalty b : one that attempts to control public opinion or its expression
2 : the head of a government department in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1946

— com·mis·sar·i·al \ˌkä-mə-ˈsär-ē-əl, -ˈser-\ adjective