arpent

[ ahr-puhnt; French ar-pahn ]

/ ˈɑr pənt; French arˈpɑ̃ /

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noun, plural ar·pents

[ahr-puhnts; French ar-pahn]. /ˈɑr pənts; French arˈpɑ̃/.

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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Origin of arpent

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

Words nearby arpent

Árpád, ARPANET, arpeggiate, arpeggiation, arpeggio, arpent, Arpino, arquebus, arr., arracacha, arrack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use arpent in a sentence

In all the Island of Montreal the tax for each arpent of land was two liards and a half pint of wheat.
Montreal 1535-1914 under the French Rgime|William Henry Atherton
The measurement of the arpent varied from an acre to an acre and a half.
A History of Champagne|Henry Vizetelly
The corn-lands here rent for about fifteen livres the arpent.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson
The rents of the corn-lands, farmed for money, are about ten or twelve livres the arpent.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson

An arpent of ground for corn rents at from thirty to thirty-six livres.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson

British Dictionary definitions for arpent

arpent

/ (ˈɑːpənt, French arpɑ̃) /

noun

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

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

Word Origin for arpent

C16: from Old French, probably from Late Latin arepennis half an acre, of Gaulish origin; related to Middle Irish airchenn unit of land measure

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012