View source for Arpent

{{Short description|Unit of length}}
{{Infobox unit
| name     = Arpent (Parisian)
| image    = Rue des Sept-Arpents, Paris 19.jpg
| caption  = "Seven-Arpent Street" [500 metres, or {{frac|3}} mile] in [[Paris]]; many streets and roads are named for their length in ''arpents''.
| standard = [[French units of measurement|French]]
| quantity = [[length]]
| units1   = [[SI units]]
| inunits1 = {{val|71.46466|ul=m}}
| units2   = [[imperial units|imperial]]/[[US customary units|US]]&nbsp;units
| inunits2 = {{convert|71.46466|m|yd|disp=out|lk=on|comma=gaps}} or 
{{convert|71.46466|m|ft|disp=out|lk=on|comma=gaps}}
}}
{{Infobox unit
| name     = Arpent (North American)
| standard = French
| quantity = length
| units1   = SI units
| inunits1 = {{val|58.47131|u=m}}
| units2   = imperial/US&nbsp;units
| inunits2 = {{convert|58.47131|m|yd|disp=out|comma=gaps}} or {{convert|58.47131|m|ft|disp=out|comma=gaps}}
}}
An '''arpent''' ({{IPA|fr|aʁpɑ̃}}, sometimes called '''arpen''') is a unit of [[length]] and a unit of [[area]]. It is a pre-[[Metric system|metric]] [[French units of measurement|French unit]] based on the Roman [[Ancient Roman units of measurement#Length|''actus'']]. It is used in [[Quebec]], some areas of the [[United States customary units|United States]] that were part of [[Louisiana (New France)|French Louisiana]], and in [[Mauritius]] and the [[Seychelles]].

==Etymology==

The word ''arpent'' is believed to derive from the [[Late Latin]] ''arepennis'' (equal to half a ''[[jugerum]]''), which in turn comes from the [[Gaulish]] *''are-penno''- ("end, extremity of a field").

==Unit of length==

There were various standard arpents. The most common were the arpent used in North America, which was defined as 180 [[Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution#Length|French feet]]<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Weights and Measures |volume=28 |page=491 |first1=W. M. F. |last1=Petrie |first2=H. J. |last2=Chaney}}</ref> (''{{lang|fr|pied}}'', of approximately {{convert|32.48|cm|in|disp=or}}), and the arpent used in Paris, which was defined as 220 French feet.

* In North America, 1 arpent = 180 French feet = about 192 [[English foot|English feet]] = about 58.47 [[metre]]s
* In Paris, 1 arpent = 220 French feet = about 234 English feet = about 71.46 metres

==Unit of area==

Historically, in North America, 1 (square) arpent (''{{lang|fr|arpent carré}}''), also known as a French acre, was 180 French feet × 180 French feet = 32,400 French square feet = about 3419 [[square metre]]s = about 0.845 English [[acre]]s.  Certain U.S. states have official definitions of the arpent which vary slightly:
* In [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], [[Alabama]], and [[Florida]], the official conversion is 1 arpent = {{convert|0.84628|acre|m2|abbr=off}}.<ref>In Louisiana, an arpent is equal to approximately 0.84628 acre; see ''Derouen v. Poirier'', 136 So. 2d 131, footnote 1 (La. 3d Cir. Ct. App. 1961) (''dicta'').</ref>
* In [[Arkansas]] and [[Missouri]], the official conversion is 1 arpent = {{convert|0.8507|acre|m2|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{citation|title=Glossary of Geology|editor1=Julia A. Jackson |editor2=James P. Mehl |editor3=Klaus K. E. Neuendorf |publisher=Springer|year=2005|isbn=9780922152766|page=37|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SfnSesBc-RgC&pg=PA37}}.</ref>

In Paris, the square arpent was 220 French feet × 220 French feet = 48,400 French square feet, about {{convert|5107|m2|acre|disp=or}}.

In Mauritius and Seychelles, an arpent is about 4220.87 [[square metre]]s, 0.4221 hectares, 1.043 acres.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mauritius: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix|date=14 June 2006|publisher=International Monetary Fund|isbn=9781451983081|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqUP-8z25CoC&dq=mauritius+arpent&pg=PA39}}</ref>

==Louisiana==
In Louisiana, parcels of land known as ''arpent'' sections or French ''arpent'' land grants also pre-date the [[Public Land Survey System]] (PLSS), but are treated as PLSS sections. An ''arpent'' can mean a linear measurement of approximately {{convert|192|ft|m}} or an area measurement of about {{convert|0.84|acre|m2}}. The area measurement is also sometimes referred to as an ''arpent carré'' (square arpent) or an ''arpent de surface''.<ref name=Holmes1983>{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Jack D. L. |date=1983 |title=The Value of the Arpent in Spanish Louisiana and West Florida |journal=Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=314–320 |issn=0024-6816 |jstor=4232289}}</ref>

French arpent land divisions are long narrow parcels of land, also called [[ribbon farm|ribbon farms]], usually found along the navigable streams of southern Louisiana and along major waterways in other areas. This system of land subdivision was begun by French settlers in the 18th century, according to typical French practice at the time and was continued by both the Spanish and by the American government after the [[Louisiana Purchase|sale of Louisiana]]. A typical French arpent land division is 2 to 4 arpents wide along the river by 40 to 60 arpents deep, while the Spanish arpent land divisions tend to be 6 to 8 arpents wide by 40 arpents deep. Land grant would typically be specified in terms of ''arpents de face'', referring to the amount of river frontage.<ref name=Holmes1983 />

This method of land division provided each land-owner with river frontage as well as land suitable for cultivation and habitation. These areas are given numbers just like standard sections, although the section numbers frequently exceed the normal upper limit of 36.<ref name="natlatlas">[http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html The Public Land Survey System (PLSS)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511182116/http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html |date=2008-05-11 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Acre]]
*[[Morgen]]
* [[Units of measurement in France before the French Revolution]]
* [[Voltaire]] famously dismissed Canada as ''[[Quelques arpents de neige]]'', "a few acres of snow".
* [[Weights and Measures Act (Canada)]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Units of area]]
[[Category:Units of length]]
[[Category:Area]]
[[Category:Surveying]]

[[hu:Hold (mértékegység)]]
[[ro:Iugăr]]