arpent

American  

[ahr-puhnt, ar-pahn] / ˈɑr pənt, arˈpɑ̃ /

noun

arpents plural

1. an old French unit of area equal to about one acre (0.4 hectare). It is still used in the province of Quebec and in parts of Louisiana.

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arpent British  

/ arpɑ̃, ˈɑːpənt /

noun

1. a former French unit of length equal to 190 feet (approximately 58 metres)

2. an old French unit of land area equal to about one acre: still used in Quebec and Louisiana

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arpents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arpent

1570–80; < Middle French < Latin arepennis half-acre < Gaulish; akin to MIr airchenn unit of area

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arpent arpents

In general, in the regions of large farms, the proprietor obtains ten livres the arpent if the cultivation is very good, and three livres when ordinary.

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

But I'm not go more mebbe t'ree arpent, w'en      de sky is get black all roun', An' de win' she blow lak I never see, an'      de beeg snowstorm come down.

From The Habitant and Other French-Canadian Poems by Drummond, William Henry

I learned in the course of my walk that she was the daughter of a small farmer: the farm was small indeed, being about half an arpent, or acre.

From Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808 by Pinkney, Lt-Col.

An arpent yields one hundred quintals of hay a year, worth three livres the quintal.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson

It is estimated that sales are made once in eighty years; these rights bear on 1,356 arpents which are worth, the best, 192 livres per arpent the second best, 110 livres, the poorest, 75 livres.

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

Stengel's critique neatly encapsulates a view that has remained unchanged since Voltaire dismissed North America as "a few arpents of snow."

From Time Magazine Archive

The 1681 census discloses that Jean and Marguerite owned two guns, their 30 arpents, eight cattle, and had four children at home.

From Time Magazine Archive

A vigneron at Volnay carried me into his vineyard, which was of about ten arpents.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 2 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson

Some were as large as a European dukedom; others contained only a few thousand arpents.

From Crusaders of New France A Chronicle of the Fleur-de-Lis in the Wilderness Chronicles of America, Volume 4 by Munro, William Bennett

Thus for a farm of 100 acres, with two arpents of frontage, a habitant might pay $1.00 in cash and two capons.

From A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs The Story of a Hundred Years, 1761-1861 by Wrong, George McKinnon