What does arrondissement mean?
An arrondissement is an administrative district in France, used in two related senses. Most familiarly, it denotes a municipal district of a major French city: Paris is divided into twenty numbered arrondissements that spiral outward from the centre in a clockwise pattern, each with its own town hall and distinct character — from the tourist-heavy 1st around the Louvre to the bohemian 18th atop Montmartre. Lyon and Marseille are similarly subdivided. In a second, broader sense, an arrondissement is a subdivision of a French département, administered by a subprefect. The word entered English directly from French and carries an unmistakably continental flavour, appearing chiefly in travel writing, journalism, and discussions of French administration. For visitors to Paris, knowing the term is practical as well as charming: hotel listings, restaurant reviews, and addresses routinely identify locations by arrondissement number, making the word an essential piece of vocabulary for anyone navigating the French capital.
nounAn administrative district of a French city, especially Paris, or of a French department. Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements.
- A municipal district of a large French city, especially one of the twenty administrative districts of Paris.
- A subdivision of a French department, an administrative district administered by a subprefect.
"They rented a small flat in the eleventh arrondissement, a short walk from the Bastille."
"The café sat on a quiet corner of the sixth arrondissement, near the Luxembourg Gardens."
"Each arrondissement of the department has its own subprefecture responsible for local administration."
Standard plural formed with -s; commonly used when discussing multiple districts of a city or department.
"The outer arrondissements of Paris are generally quieter and less expensive than the central ones."
Paris's arrondissements spiral outward like a snail shell — starting at the Louvre in the 1st and winding clockwise to the edges of the city in the 20th.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of arrondissement
Arrondissement was borrowed from French, where it derives from the verb arrondir ('to make round'), formed from the prefix a- (from Latin ad-) plus rond ('round'), ultimately from Latin rotundus via Old French reond/rond. It originally referred to a territory made 'rounded' into a coherent unit, later specialized as a term for administrative districts established during the French administrative reorganizations following the Revolution. Cognates sharing the same root include English 'rondo', 'roundel', and 'rotund'.
How arrondissement is actually used
The word is a French borrowing and retains its French flavor; it is used almost exclusively in reference to France or other francophone contexts. In English text it is usually set in roman type without italics. The plural may be written 'arrondissements'; the final -t is typically silent in careful French pronunciation but often sounded in anglicized speech.
Easily confused with arrondissement
A department is a larger first-level administrative division of France, while an arrondissement is a smaller subdivision within a department or a district within a city such as Paris.