​MAINE-ET-LOIRE (-ā-lwär′), a department of France, formed out of the old province of Anjou, and watered by the rivers whose names it bears, divided into the arrondissements of Angers, Beaugé, Cholet, Saumur, and Segré; area, 2,787 square miles; pop. about 510,000; the soil is fertile, and produces excellent corn and wine, with hemp, linseed, fruit and green crops; slate quarries and coal mines are worked, and there are mills for cotton, woolen, and linen manufacturers. Capital, Angers. The department is formed mainly out of the ancient Anjou.