arrondissement

noun

ar·​ron·​disse·​ment ə-ˈrän-də-smənt How to pronounce arrondissement (audio) ˌa-ˌrōⁿ-(ˌ)dē-ˈsmäⁿ How to pronounce arrondissement (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The venue this time around was an equally airy, heavenly, pale-toned 19th-century apartment in Paris’s ninth arrondissement, a bread roll’s throw away from the original Rose Bakery. — Mark Holgate, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026 The company has 60 employees based in Paris, with an in-house R&D laboratory and offices in the 11th arrondissement. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2026 In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, SPCJ said a break-in and vandalism at a synagogue in Paris's 19th arrondissement initially suggested burglary, although the motive remained undetermined. — Ariella Noveck, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026 The Birkin intrigued the core Hermès customers, who lived in the tony 16th arrondissement where Birkin herself lived, or on the equally tony Upper East Side in New York City. — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for arrondissement

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of arrondissement was in 1746

Rhymes for arrondissement

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Browse Nearby Words

arrondi
arrondissement
arrow
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Cite this Entry

“Arrondissement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrondissement. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about arrondissement

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