Although it is unclear what 'ichiretsu' refers to, some say that it is a corruption of the ichigatsu (January, when the last negotiation failed in January, 1904 immediately before the start of the Russo-Japanese War), or a corruption of 'nichiretsu' (referring to nichi (Japan) verses rekkyo (powerful countries).
「一列」は意味不明だが、「一月」（日露開戦直前の1904年1月に最後の交渉が決裂したことを指す）の転訛とも、「日列」（＝日本対列強）の転訛ともいう。