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

Among the 10 defendants seen arriving at the Paris Criminal Court in the French capital’s 17th arrondissement on Monday were Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, who posts under the pseudonym Zoé Sagan, as well as a clairvoyant named as Delphine Jegousse, who goes under the pseudonym of Amandine Roy. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025

In the Galerie des Bernardins, a former Cistercian college set in the 5th arrondissement, the French designer imagined eye-catching tableaux. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025

Accentuate the dramatic v-neckline with a single statement piece like this eye-catching pearl necklace from Madewell for a relaxed yet stylish look perfect for drinks on the terrace of a buzzy 11th arrondissement wine bar—or my neighborhood go-to, Les Œillets. —Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2025

At the time, what is now the 14th arrondissement was outside of the city proper, but still easily accessible. —Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 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