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

The superficial arpent, or arpent of area, contained about five-sixths of an acre.

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

The arpent in modern France has varied greatly in different localities.

From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin

I'm feel all right for my monee,   For sure mon Choual he's took firs' place, W'en 'bout arpent from home, sapré,   Somet'ing she's happen, I'm los' de race.

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

Looking from the Chateau de Notre Dame de la Garde, it would seem as if there was a bastide for every arpent.

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

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