# echelon

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛʃ.ə.lɒn/ · frequency rank #31,531

## Definitions
1. A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.
2. A line of riders seeking maximum drafting in a crosswind, resulting in a diagonal line across the road.
3. A formation of troops, ships, aircraft, etc., in diagonal parallel rows.

## Etymology
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”).

## Common misspellings (10)
`cehelon`, `ecchelon`, `ecehlon`, `echellon`, `echelno`, `echelonn`, `echeoln`, `echhelon`, `echleon`, `ehcelon`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/echelon