an arrondissement of the department of the Puy de Dome, in France. It is 334 square miles in extent, and comprehends six cantons and thirty-nine communes, having 70,657 inhabitants in 1836. The capital is the city of the same name, and is built on the side of a hill, at whose base flows the river Durolle. It contained in the same year three churches, and 9982 inhabitants. It is a seat of the hardware and cutlery trade; and at one time fabricated considerable quantities of inferior jewellery and gilt toys. Long. 3.27.47. E. Lat. 45.51.27. N.