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 backstory Enviably located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 7th arrondissement, the property is housed in the former Hôtel Cayré, where artists and writers once resided. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Jan. 2026

Steve Madden’s Dusty Boots will be comfortable enough for sightseeing from the 6th arrondissement all the way to the 11th. —Renée Reardin, InStyle, 17 Jan. 2026

La Clef sits on the edge of Rue Daubenton in Paris’ fifth arrondissement. —Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2026

The daughter of an engineer, she was raised in a cultured bourgeois household in the affluent 16th arrondissement and studied ballet at the Conservatoire de Paris. —Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 28 Dec. 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