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Arrondissement - 4 dictionary results

ar⋅ron⋅disse⋅ment

  [uh-ron-dis-muhnt, ar-uhn-dees-; Fr. a-rawn-dees-mahn]
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–noun, plural -ments  [-muhnts; Fr. -mahn] .
1. the largest administrative division of a French department, comprising a number of cantons.
2. an administrative district of certain large cities in France.
Origin:
1800–10; < F, equiv. to arrondiss- (var. s. of arrondir to round out; see a- 5 , round ) + -ment -ment
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ar·ron·disse·ment   (ä-rôɴ'dēs-mäɴ')   
n.  
  1. The chief administrative subdivision of a department in France.
  2. A municipal subdivision in some large French cities.

[French, from Old French, rounded projection on a wall, from arrondir, arrondiss-, to round out : a, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + rondir, to make round (from rond, round; see round1).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Arrondissement

Ar`ron`disse`ment"\, n. [F., fr. arrondir to make round; ad + rond round, L. rotundus.] A subdivision of a department. [France]

Note: The territory of France, since the revolution, has been divided into departments, those into arrondissements, those into cantons, and the latter into communes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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arrondissement 
1807, "administrative subdivision of a Fr. department," from Fr., lit. "a rounding," from stem of arrondir "to make round."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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