1. The chief administrative subdivision of a department in France.
2. A municipal subdivision in some large French cities.

[French, from Old French, rounded projection on a wall, from arrondir, arrondiss-, to round out : a, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + rondir, to make round (from rond, round; see round¹).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.