echelon

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*skend-“to jump”
2. Latin · derived fromscāla“ladder”
3. French · borrowed froméchelon“rung; echelon”
4. English todayechelon

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”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 18th c. A formation of troops, ships, aircraft, etc., in diagonal parallel rows.