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-‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscāla‘ladder’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400eschale
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelle‘ladder’
  5. French, derivedc. 1600–presentéchelon‘rung’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1833echelon

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*skend-‘to jump up, ascend’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscāla‘ladder’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400eschale
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentéchelle‘ladder’
  5. French, derivedc. 1600–presentéchelon‘rung’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1833echelon

Earliest quotation: 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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

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

Shirt and support for this word