département

American

[dey-par-tuh-mahn] / deɪ par təˈmɑ̃ /

noun

French.

department.

département British

/ departəmɑ̃ /

noun

(in France) a major subdivision or branch of the administration of the government

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

départements

plural

Etymology

Origin of département

C18: from départir to divide; see _depart

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The département of Lot in south-west France is one of the country's most rural.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2023

French Guiana – despite being a French département, the rough equivalent of an American county – is marooned on South America’s northern shore, and suffers accordingly from low name recognition.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2012

In each département there is a normal school for each sex, though in a few instances two départements combine to maintain one normal school.

From History of Education by Seeley, Levi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023