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Added 10 October 2026

echelon

/ˈɛʃ.ə.lɒn/ noun

Latin root: scāla Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about echelon at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.
A line of riders seeking maximum drafting in a crosswind, resulting in a diagonal line across the road.
A formation of troops, ships, aircraft, etc., in diagonal parallel rows. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}

verb

To form troops into an echelon.

adjective

Of a matrix: having undergone Gaussian elimination with the result that the leading coefficient or pivot (that is, the first nonzero number from the left) of a nonzero row is to the right of the pivot of the row above it, giving rise to a stepped appearance in the matrix.

Origin

Borrowed from French échelon (“rung; echelon”), from échelle (“ladder”) + -on (diminutive suffix). Échelle is derived from Latin scāla (“ladder”), from scandō (“to ascend, climb”), from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to jump”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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