Arrondissement definition | Dictionary.com

ar⋅ron⋅disse⋅ment

[uh-ron-dis-muh

nt, ar-uh

n-dees-; Fr. a-rawn-dees-mahn]

–noun, plural -ments [-muh

nts; 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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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ar·ron·disse·ment (ä-rôɴ'dēs-mäɴ') Pronunciation Key
n.

The chief administrative subdivision of a department in France.
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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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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.

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