arrondissement

noun

ar·​ron·​disse·​ment ə-ˈrän-də-smənt  ˌa-ˌrōⁿ-(ˌ)dē-ˈsmäⁿ 

1

: an administrative district of some large French cities

2

: the largest division of a French department

Examples of arrondissement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Spurs pop-up shop on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, had ‘Wembanyama #1’ jerseys for $120 (€115), a must-have for many shoppers. —Eduardo Tansley, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025

This 540-square-foot apartment is on the fifth floor of its building in the 10th arrondissement—in other words, this means unobstructed views and lots of light. —Nicolas Milon, Architectural Digest, 21 Jan. 2025

Also bringing the sunshine is Simon Porte Jacquemus—who returns to the official schedule this season, taking over an apartment in the 16th arrondissement—and Willy Chavarria, who is importing his unique New York energy to the City of Light. —Phil Oh, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2025

The Bernadette takeover will be in two locations at 24 Rue de 4 Septembre, in the 2nd arrondissement, and 47 Rue Cler in Paris’ 7th from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2. . —Rhonda Richford, WWD, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "action of making round or rounding off, circumscription of boundaries, extension of a territory, subdivision of a French department," going back to Middle French, "rounding off," from arrondiss-, variant stem of arrondir "to make round, round off" (going back to Old French arondir, from a-, prefix forming transitive verbs — going back to Latin ad- ad- — + -rondir, verbal derivative of reund, rond round entry 1) + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 2