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

The lineal arpent was the equivalent of one hundred and ninety-two English feet.

From The Seigneurs of Old Canada : A Chronicle of New World Feudalism by Munro, William Bennett

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

Each grant varied from sixteen arpents—an arpent being about five-sixths of an English acre—by fifty, to ten leagues by twelve.

From Lord Elgin by Bourinot, John George, Sir

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.

It was estimated that an industrious settler, working by himself, could clear not more than one superficial arpent in a whole season.

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

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

The ordinary extent was from one hundred to four hundred arpents, usually in the shape of a parallelogram with a narrow frontage on the river, and extending inland to a much greater distance.

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

In the year 1646, the company of New France, under M. de Montmagny, conceded this land, a lot of ground, with a frontage of three arpents, to Jean Bouvart dit Lafortune.

From Picturesque Quebec : a sequel to Quebec past and present by Le Moine, J. M. (James MacPherson), Sir

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