arpent

American  

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

noun

plural

arpents

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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Etymology

Origin of arpent

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

Example Sentences

To each was assigned, moreover, sixty arpents of land beyond the limits of the village, with the perpetual rent of half a sou for each arpent.

From France and England in North America; a Series of Historical Narratives — Part 3 by Parkman, Francis

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 des eaux et forets, or legal acre of France, of which 1.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina

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

An arpent of ground for corn rents at from thirty to thirty-six livres.

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