echelon

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
echelon /ˈɛʃəlɒn, ˈeɪʃ-/

▶noun

• 1 a level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.

• 2 Military a formation of troops, ships, aircraft, or vehicles in parallel rows with the end of each row projecting further than the one in front.

▶verb Military arrange in an echelon formation.

– origin C18: from Fr. échelon, from échelle ‘ladder’.