echelon

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“
The three regiments which composed the echelon were the Fifth on the right, the Seventh fifty yards to the rear and left of the Fifth, the Tenth to the rear and left of the Seventh.

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Definitions (17)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun A formation of troops in which each unit is positioned successively to the left or right of the rear unit to form an oblique or steplike line.
  2. noun A flight formation or arrangement of craft in this manner.
  3. noun A similar formation of groups, units, or individuals.
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Examples (50)

  • Having been alerted by the first echelon, the gunners in this group of bombers were prepared and forced the Airacobras to dive under their formation. —  Attack of the Airacobras - Soviet Aces, American P-39s and the Air War Against Germany
  • The theocratic state apparatuses have their backs watched by ideological armed forces of their own but, more significantly, they make great use of the state run foundations that form an echelon-specific welfare state, making sure that the relative well being of millions of lower-working class and poor people is directly dependent on the survival of this particular form of government.
  • Though Alviro Petersen has had a taste of the highest echelon, he has not done enough to warrant a longer stay in the side.
  • CES 2009 brought us a new player in the smartphone upper-echelon. —  Megite Technology News: What's Happening Right Now
  • "The fighting is complex ... we are following the IDF's plans and are acting in accordance with the political echelon," Lieutenant-General Ashkenazi said. —  The Earth Times Online Newspaper
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French échelon, from Old French eschelon, rung of a ladder, from eschiele, ladder, from Late Latin scāla, back-formation from Latin scālae, steps, ladder; see skand- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from French échelon (= Spanish escalon), a round of a ladder, a step, stepping-stone, echelon, from échelle, Old French eschelle = Provencal Spanish Portuguese escala = Italian scala, from Latin scala, a ladder: see scale.
  2. from echelon, n.
 

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/ˈɛʃɛlɑn/
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