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

This previous weekend was particularly nuts, with an older gentleman snatched from the streets of Paris' 14th arrondissement on May 1 by men in ski masks. —ArsTechnica, 7 May 2025

Though the direct inspiration for Untitled (circa 1967) remains unknown, Jaffe was at the time inspired by the demolition site of the Gare Montparnasse train station in 15th arrondissement of Paris, situated on the left bank of the River Seine. —Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Located on the Rue Balzac, in a sweet but sleepy corner of the 8th arrondissement but mere steps from the bustling Champs-Élysées, the hotel occupies the site of the hôtel particulier where Honoré housed his paramour, the Polish countess Ewelina Hańska. —Chloe Malle, Vogue, 21 Apr. 2025

With the Emily in Paris series, the 5th arrondissement has become the place to be, especially La Place de l'Estrapade, where the central character has taken up residence. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 6 Nov. 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