Word of the Day: ECHELON

Rank, rung, or row

echelon (noun) - a level, rank, or position of authority within an organization, profession, or society; a stepped or offset diagonal arrangement [esh-uh-lon]

BREAKDOWN: The word echelon, like so many others, comes to English fully-formed from the French word échelon meaning rung of a ladder or step up. Its origins can be traced back to the Latin scala meaning ladder or flight of stairs and ultimately to the root SCAN- meaning climb or rise in words like ascend and transcendental.

“The common denominator in all these conditions—whether in the lungs, the muscles, or the bones—is overwhelming pain. And that is perhaps the first and most fundamental thing that all novice oarsmen must learn about competitive rowing in the upper echelons of the sport: that pain is part and parcel of the deal. It’s not a question of whether you will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it’s a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way with you.” —Daniel James Brown

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]