echelon

Meanings

Noun

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

Verb

• To form troops into an echelon.

Adjective

• & \cdot & \cdot & \cdot & \cdot & \cdot \\
• Of a matrix: having undergone Gaussian elimination with the result that the leading coefficient or pivot (that is, the first nonzero number from the left) of a nonzero row is to the right of the pivot of the row above it, giving rise to a stepped appearance in the matrix.

Origin

• . Échelle is derived from Latin scāla ("ladder"), from scandō, from Proto-Indo-European *skend- ("to jump").