Etymograph

English

echelon

Echelon comes from French échelon ‘rung’, from échelle ‘ladder’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-1‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscāla2‘ladder’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400eschale2
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelle3‘ladder’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelon3‘rung’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1833echelon3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin scala, which cites Martirosyan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French échelle
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English echelon
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1833, a royalist: “The troops selected by his Royal Highness for this…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-Wiktionary, Latin scala, which cites Martirosyan‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscālaWiktionary, French échelle‘ladder’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400eschaleWiktionary, French échelle
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelleWiktionary, English echelon‘ladder’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelonWiktionary, English echelon‘rung’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1833echelonWiktionary, English echelon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1833, a royalist: “The troops selected by his Royal Highness for this…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *skend- ‘to jump up, ascend’

scan, descend, slander, ascension, scalar, ascendant, skein, 12 more

through Latin scāla ‘ladder’

scale, escalator, scala, esca, 4 more

Today it means

noun A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “echelon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin scala, French échelle. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *skend- / echelon

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