échelonner

Forms

échelonner^[1] Middle French eschelonner.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French échelon + -er.^[2][1][4] The base noun is in turn from French échelle (“ladder”) with the suffix -on, itself from Latin scāla (“ladder”).^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Eschelonner is first found at the end of the 14th century, glossing Latin interscalo, “to set in rungs or ranks”, in a French–Latin glossary cited by Godefroy.^[2] It then went out of use.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb was taken up again in 1823 as a military term, “to place troops in echelons”, from the military sense of échelon (1821).^[2][3] It soon spread to things and ideas set at intervals or by degrees (1825), and the reflexive s'échelonner appears in Hugo in 1832.^[2][6] From 1842 it is used of things spread out in time, such as payments due at successive dates; the noun échelonnement (1851) comes from this use.^[2][3][7]

Timeline

• late 14th century – Eschelonner “to arrange by rungs”.^[2][4]
• 1823 – Las Cases uses it for placing troops in echelons.^[2][5]
• 1825 – Delécluze uses it figuratively of pleasures arranged by degrees.^[2]
• 1832 – The reflexive s'échelonner in Hugo.^[2]
• 1842 – Used of commitments spread over different dates.^[2][3]
• 1851 – The derived noun échelonnement.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (military) To place troops in echelons, in successive positions in depth.^[6][2][7]
2. To place people or things at intervals or by degrees: échelonner des bornes le long d'un sentier.^[6][8][7]
3. To spread out in time, to stagger: échelonner ses remboursements sur deux ans.^[6][1][7]
4. (reflexive) S'échelonner: to be spaced out, in space or in time.^[2][9][3]

Word family

• échelonnement
• rééchelonner

Related words

• échelon
• échelle
• Latin scāla

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette