noun
- A unit of land area formerly used in France and French-speaking regions, roughly equivalent to one acre.
Usage: archaic; historical; chiefly French and Canadian contexts
Examples
- The old French deed measured the property in arpens rather than modern metric units.
- In colonial Quebec, land grants were often recorded in arpens.
- The farmer inherited three arpens of vineyard land from his grandfather.
- Historical maps of Louisiana show land divisions marked in arpens.