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

According to French newspaper of record Le Figaro, Farès had been found unresponsive at the bottom of a pool at a private club on Rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement April 11. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2026

The fine jewelry designer, famed for her chunky, chain-link gold chokers and playful signet rings, has found a new form of expression in Rubirosa’s, an elegant neighborhood shirt shop in Paris’s historic 7th arrondissement. —Talia Abbas, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2026

Located near the Seine in the city’s 7th arrondissement, the Musée & École Giacometti will house the largest collection of his work in one site, comprising more than 10,000 items and a wealth of archival material. —Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Apr. 2026

For several years, the creative has owned an apartment in the French capital’s 9th arrondissement—a 753-square-foot space that, since becoming a new mother, Chen wanted to make more family-friendly and functional. —Annabelle Dufraigne, Architectural Digest, 4 Apr. 2026

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