Commiss

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... Reference to the commission in a 1944 field post letter

Kommiss [ kɔˈmɪs ] (according to the old spelling Kommiß ; Latin committere ) - in the vernacular in general and in the broad sense military service or military service . A commission is also used to describe everything that the employer makes available to soldiers - or is delivered. For example, one speaks of commissary bread , commissary boots, commissary skirt, commissary butcher etc .; but also metaphorically, for example, from Kommisskopf for a certain state of mind.

Origin and historical use

The use of Kommiss as a single or compound noun goes back to the middle to second half of the 16th century in the German-speaking world. So there from this time witness the nature and extent regarding Picking which the mercenaries was fed. In the Landsknecht language itself, “standing in commission / being with the commission” meant something like being a soldier, being in wages or being served in a warlike way. In official correspondence, the authorities use the term “picking” for delivery requests from Furage in the broadest sense.

According to other sources, in German armies the commissioner had the entire Furage being under him, including the food and supplies store. In the Simplizissimus you can read: "But if something goes to Commiss of the Soldateska , they are the first to get their share, although they don't deserve it."

In Brandenburg, Kommiss appeared for the first time in 1561 and is probably derived from the Latin committere (= to transfer ⇒ to commission ) and means first the order to the residents who had to deliver maintenance supplies for the army, then the delivery itself. In the course of time Kommiss stood for everything to do with the military. In modern parlance, commiss is rarely used today.

The French noun “Commis” (= businessman's assistant, clerk) is the same word and stands for “commissioning”.

literature

  • Ostwald, the soldiers get something to eat (1917), 11
  • Heer und Flotte der Gegenwart 4 (1898), 385, notes

Individual evidence

  1. Commiß - after Simplicisiumus, the fourth book, chapter 13.
  2. Brockhaus Encyclopedia in 24 volumes (1996-2001), Volume 12, Brockhaus, Leipzig and Mannheim, ISBN 3-7653-3672-6 , p. 333.