a. Pitiable. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Commiserated; p. pr. & vb. n. Commiserating. ] [ L. commiseratus, p. p. of commiserari to commiserate; com- + miserari to pity. See Miserable. ] To feel sorrow, pain, or regret for; to pity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then must we those, who groan, beneath the weight
Of age, disease, or want, commiserate. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

We should commiserate our mutual ignorance. Locke.

Syn. -- To pity; compassionate; lament; condole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. commisération, fr. L. commiseratio a part of an oration intended to excite compassion. ] The act of commiserating; sorrow for the wants, afflictions, or distresses of another; pity; compassion. [ 1913 Webster ]

And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint. Shak.

Syn. -- See Sympathy. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Feeling or expressing commiseration. Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who pities. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a commissary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. commissariat. ] (Mil.) (a) The organized system by which armies and military posts are supplied with food and daily necessaries. (b) The body of officers charged with such service. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Commissaries [ LL. commissarius, fr. L. commissus, p. p. of committere to commit, intrust to. See Commit. ] 1. One to whom is committed some charge, duty, or office, by a superior power; a commissioner. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great Destiny, the Commissary of God. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl.) An officer of the bishop, who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in parts of the diocese at a distance from the residence of the bishop. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) (a) An officer having charge of a special service; as, the commissary of musters. (b) An officer whose business is to provide food for a body of troops or a military post; -- officially called commissary of subsistence. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Washington wrote to the President of Congress . . . urging the appointment of a commissary general, a quartermaster general, a commissary of musters, and a commissary of artillery. W. Irving [ 1913 Webster ]

Commissary general, an officer in charge of some special department of army service; as: (a) The officer in charge of the commissariat and transport department, or of the ordnance store department. [ Eng. ] (b) The commissary general of subsistence. [ U. S. ] --
Commissary general of subsistence (Mil. U. S.), the head of the subsistence department, who has charge of the purchase and issue of provisions for the army. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office or employment of a commissary. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. commissio. See Commit. ] 1. The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of perpetrating. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a certain degree of hardness. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of intrusting; a charge; instructions as to how a trust shall be executed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons; a trust; a charge. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A formal written warrant or authority, granting certain powers or privileges and authorizing or commanding the performance of certain duties. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let him see our commission. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A certificate conferring military or naval rank and authority; as, a colonel's commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A company of persons joined in the performance of some duty or the execution of some trust; as, the interstate commerce commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

A commission was at once appointed to examine into the matter. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Com.) (a) The acting under authority of, or on account of, another. (b) The thing to be done as agent for another; as, I have three commissions for the city. (c) The brokerage or allowance made to a factor or agent for transacting business for another; as, a commission of ten per cent on sales. See Del credere. [ 1913 Webster ]

Commission of array. (Eng. Hist.) See under Array. --
Commission of bankruptcy, a commission appointing and empowering certain persons to examine into the facts relative to an alleged bankruptcy, and to secure the bankrupt's lands and effects for the creditors. --
Commission of lunacy, a commission authorizing an inquiry whether a person is a lunatic or not. --
Commission merchant, one who buys or sells goods on commission, as the agent of others, receiving a rate per cent as his compensation. --
Commission officer or
Commissioned officer, (Mil.), one who has a commission, in distinction from a noncommissioned or warrant officer. --
Commission of the peace, a commission under the great seal, constituting one or more persons justices of the peace. [ Eng. ] --
on commission, paid partly or completely by collecting as a commision a portion of the sales that one makes. --
out of commission, not operating properly; out of order. --
To put a vessel into commission (Naut.), to equip and man a government vessel, and send it out on service after it has been laid up; esp., the formal act of taking command of a vessel for service, hoisting the flag, reading the orders, etc. --
To put a vessel out of commission (Naut.), to detach the officers and crew and retire it from active service, temporarily or permanently. --
To put the great seal into commission or
To put the Treasury into commission, to place it in the hands of a commissioner or commissioners during the abeyance of the ordinary administration, as between the going out of one lord keeper and the accession of another. [ Eng. ] --
The United States Christian Commission, an organization among the people of the North, during the Civil War, which afforded material comforts to the Union soldiers, and performed services of a religious character in the field and in hospitals. --
The United States Sanitary Commission, an organization formed by the people of the North to cooperate with and supplement the medical department of the Union armies during the Civil War.

Syn. -- Charge; warrant; authority; mandate; office; trust; employment. [ 1913 Webster ]