I. ˈeshəˌlän noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French échelon, literally, rung of a ladder, from Old French eschelon, from eschele, eschiele ladder
1.
a. : an arrangement of a body of troops with its units each somewhat to the left or right of the one in the rear like a series of steps ; also : any similar formation of units or individuals
a long echelon of wild geese — H.L.Davis
— often used with in
long staggering line of north canoes turned in echelon — Walter O'Meara
b. : a flight formation in which each airplane flies at a certain elevation above or below and at a certain distance behind and to the right or left of the airplane ahead
c. : one of a number of military units in echelon formation ; also : any military or nonmilitary unit or group of individuals acting or appearing to act in a disciplined, organized, or united manner
the first echelons in an amphibious assault — Aero Digest
2.
a. : a group of individuals having a particular responsibility or occupying a particular level or grade (as of command, authority, or leadership) in an organization, profession, or field of activity
the financial, supply, and training echelons of the European Army — Newsweek
the lower echelons of the bureaucracy
the higher echelons of the Social Register — Alva Johnston
b. : one of a series of levels or grades (as of leadership or responsibility) in an organization or field of activity
permits employees on every echelon to participate in the development of policy
3. : a diffraction grating giving spectra of very high order and dispersion and used mainly in the study of fine structure that consists of a series of plane-parallel glass plates of exactly equal thickness each wider than its neighbor by the same small amount and thus forms a miniature stairway, light normally entering at the widest plate and emerging at the successive risers of the stairway
4. : an arrangement of geologic features (as mountains, folds, fractures) in a pattern resembling that of a military echelon
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: French échelonner, from échelon
transitive verb
: to place (as troops or fortifications) in echelon
intransitive verb
: to take position in echelon