echelon
noun
[ ˈɛʃəlɒn ]
• a level or rank in an organization, a profession, or society.
• "the upper echelons of the business world"
Similar:
level,
rank,
grade,
step,
rung,
tier,
stratum,
plane,
position,
order,
division,
sector,
• a formation of troops, ships, aircraft, or vehicles in parallel rows with the end of each row projecting further than the one in front.
• "the regiment lined up shoulder to shoulder in three tight echelons"
echelon
verb
• arrange in an echelon formation.
• "the Task Force would take the left, echeloned to be able to sweep in from the west"
Origin:
late 18th century (in echelon (sense 2 of the noun)): from French échelon, from échelle ‘ladder’, from Latin scala .
