arpen

Noun

arpent (plural arpents)

1. A premetric French unit of length, having various official measures (from 58 to 72 meters).
   • One Tract of Land, situated in the Parish of Orleans, on the left bank of the Mississippi, at about two and a half miles below New Orleans, measuring one half arpent front on the River, by 80 arpents deep, bounded on one side by the property of Mr. Lanaux, and on the other side by that of Mrs....1850 January 31, N. Vignie, “[Auction Sales.] Valuable Tract of Land below New Orleans, […]”, in The New-Orleans Bee, volume XXIII (X, New Series), number 1102 (6153 overall), New Orleans, La.: Magne...
2. A premetric French unit of area, having various official measures (from 3419 to 5107 square meters).
   • In Louisiana and Missouri there were two chief forms of grants—urban and rural. These urban grants consisted of inlots, outlots, and common lands, very much like the Pennsylvania plan, but on a broader basis. The earliest settlers, for social reasons and protection, seemed to favor settling...1899, James Curtis Ballagh, “Southern Economic History: Tariff and Public Lands”, in Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1898, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 257