from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Cantonment \Can"ton*ment\, n. [Cf. F. cantonnement.]
A town or village, or part of a town or village, assigned to
a body of troops for quarters; temporary shelter or place of
rest for an army; quarters.
[1913 Webster]
Note: When troops are sheltered in huts or quartered in the
houses of the people during any suspension of
hostilities, they are said to be in cantonment, or to
be cantoned. In India, permanent military stations, or
military towns, are termed cantonments.
[1913 Webster]