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ECHELON
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A diffraction grating consisting of a pile of plates of equal thickness arranged stepwise with a constant offset
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("echelon" is a kind of...):
diffraction grating; grating (optical device consisting of a surface with many parallel grooves in it; disperses a beam of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) into its wavelengths to produce its spectrum)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A body of troops arranged in a line
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("echelon" is a kind of...):
force; military force; military group; military unit (a unit that is part of some military service)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Status in a society or organization
Example:
the upper echelon
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("echelon" is a kind of...):
position; status (the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society)
