commissaire French · revision 17634

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1310|origins=la committō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔ.mi.sɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''commissaire''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural commissaires)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|commissārius]], recorded in 1242 for an executor of a will and in 1309 for a person given a mission, derived from [[la|committō|t=to entrust]], the source of [[commettre]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|2, 953b)^(Grand Robert 2005) Wiktionary calls it a semi-learned borrowing of [[m|la-med|commissiōnārius]].^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[pro|comissari]], [[es|comisario]] and [[it|commissario]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In 1310 it names a person entrusted with a more or less temporary office or function.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 14th century testaments name ''executeurs et de foy commissaires''.^(Littré 1873) From 1538 the word also designated the holder of a permanent office: various political and military officials, the ''haut-commissaire'', and today above all the police officer who keeps public order and leads investigations, the ''commissaire de police''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Since the 19th century it has named the person who organizes an event such as a ball or an exhibition (1845) and a member of a commission (1866).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The ''commissaire aux comptes'' audits the accounts of a company.^(DHLF 1992) The noun [[commissariat]] dates from 1752.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1242 – Medieval Latin ''commissarius'', an executor.^(TLFi)

+ * 1310 – ''Commissaire'', a person given a charge.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – The holder of a permanent office.^(TLFi)

+ * 1752 – ''Commissariat''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1845 – The organizer of an event.^(TLFi)

+ * 1866 – A member of a commission.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person given a special and temporary function; a [[m|en|commissioner]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An official representing the government or a public body: ''commissaire du gouvernement'', ''haut-commissaire'', high commissioner.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Commissaire de police'': a police [[m|en|superintendent]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The organizer or [[m|en|steward]] of an event, an exhibition or a race.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Commissaire aux comptes'': an [[m|en|auditor]] of a company's accounts.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[commissariat]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[commettre]]

+ * [[commission]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}