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

Calling Paris romantic is an understatement—the city has inspired poets and artists, who still pilgrimage here today in search of inspiration that can be found in nearly every turn, in every arrondissement. —Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 26 July 2025

Now three free swimming spots have opened along the riverbank: one near Notre Dame Cathedral, another by the Eiffel Tower, and a third in the 12th arrondissement near the Simone de Beauvoir footbridge. —Kinsey Gidick, AFAR Media, 15 July 2025

Over in the 11th arrondissement, at the Maison des Métallos, there was Who’s Next organizer WSN’s Run showroom, backed by ANDAM, with 13 brands showing, twice as many as in January. —Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 4 July 2025

From learning just enough French to ordering your café et croissant from the neighborhood boulangerie, to strolling around an artistic arrondissement, taking in the various shops and street style at a leisurely pace. —Elise Taylor, Vogue, 19 Mar. 2025

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