eclectic

English

WOTD – 15 September 2010

Alternative forms

• eclectick (obsolete)

Etymology

From French éclectique, from Ancient Greek ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós, “selective”), from ἐκλέγω (eklégō, “I pick, choose”), from ἐκ (ek, “out, from”) + λέγω (légō, “I choose, count”).

Cognate to elect.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛkˈlɛk.tɪk/, /ɪˈklɛk.tɪk/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɛktɪk

Adjective

eclectic (comparative more eclectic, superlative most eclectic)

1. Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.
   • 1893, John Robson, Hinduism and its Relations to Christianity, pages 211, 214:

     Chunder Sen and the Progressive Brahmists broke entirely with Hinduism...and he selected from the scriptures of all creeds what seemed best in them for instruction and for worship. […] It is an eclectic religion: it seeks to select what is good from all religions, and it has become the latest evidence that no eclectic religion can ever influence large numbers of men.

   • 2017 August 2, Seth Rogovoy, Don Byron and Friends to Explore Early Soul Music at Helsinki Hudson‎:

     Though rooted in jazz, Byron's music is stylistically eclectic.

2. Unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous.
   • 1983, Peter J. Wilson, Man, the Promising Primate: The Conditions of Human Evolution, page 140:

     All members of the Hominoidea, apes and man, show an eclectic taste in food but select, from a wide range of possibilities, only a few to provide the bulk of their diet.

   • 2006, W. Frederick Zimmerman, Should Barack Obama Be President?, page 153:

     Colvin said Obama has an eclectic taste in music, listening to everything from Indonesian flute music to OutKast to Motown.

   • 2018 September 26, Drachinifel, 2:30 from the start, in The Battle of Lissa - Special‎, archived from the original on 9 August 2023:

     The Austrians concentrated their entire armored formation into the 1st Division; the 2nd Division consisted solely of the wooden ship of the line Kaiser, looking incredibly out of place in a battle of ironclads, along with five frigates; and the 3rd Division had an eclectic collection of smaller gunboats and armed merchantmen.

Synonyms

• (unrelated and unspecialized): heterogeneous; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “selecting a mixture of doctrines”): exclusive, homogeneous, orthodox, standard, uniform; see also Thesaurus:homogeneous

Derived terms

• eclectically
• eclecticism
• eclecticist
• eclecticize
• eclectic medicine
• eclection
• noneclectic
• uneclectic

 

Translations

selecting a mixture of what appear to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles

Catalan: eclèctic (ca) Czech: eklektický (cs) Danish: eklektisk Dutch: eclectisch (nl) Finnish: eklektinen (fi), valikoiva (fi) French: éclectique (fr) German: eklektisch (de), vielseitig (de) Greek: εκλεκτικός (el) (eklektikós) Hungarian: eklektikus (hu) Icelandic: (who picks the best) sem velur úr það besta (is) Italian: eclettico (it) Latin: eclecticus Macedonian: еклектичен (eklektičen) Manx: femblagh Norwegian: Bokmål: eklektisk (no) Nynorsk: eklektisk Polish: eklektyczny (pl) Portuguese: eclético (pt) Romanian: eclectic (ro) Russian: эклектичный (ru) (eklektičnyj) Spanish: ecléctico (es)

unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous

Catalan: eclèctic (ca) Czech: eklektický (cs) Dutch: uiteenlopend (nl) Finnish: monenkirjava, monivivahteinen, eklektinen (fi) French: hétérogène (fr), hétéroclite (fr) disparate (fr), de bric et de broc (fr) German: heterogen (de), verschiedenartig (de) Italian: eclettico (it), disparato (it), heteroclitico, eterogeneo (it), poliedrico (it) m, versatile (it) m Latin: eclecticus Macedonian: разновиден (raznoviden) Manx: femblagh Norwegian: blanding (no) Portuguese: eclético (pt) Romanian: eterogen (ro) Russian: разнородный (ru) (raznorodnyj) Spanish: heterogéneo (es), heteróclito (es), disparatado (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Swedish: (please verify) eklektisk (sv) c, (please verify) eklektiskt (sv) n Vietnamese: (please verify) chiết trung (vi)

See also

• cherry pick
• heteroclite
• holistic

Noun

eclectic (plural eclectics)

1. Someone who selects according to the eclectic method.
   • 1986 December 14, Mary Morrisey, “Roll Over, Jehovah — And Tell St. Nick the News”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 22, page 5:

     Neo-Pagans are eclectics, often borrowing from a variety of cultural traditions as they try to shape their religious organizations and practices to meet group and individual needs.

Translations

one who selects by the eclectic method

Czech: eklektik m Danish: eklektiker c Dutch: eclecticus (nl) m Finnish: eklektikko German: Eklektiker m Italian: eclettico (it) Macedonian: еклектичар m (eklektičar) Portuguese: eclético (pt) m Romanian: eclectic (ro) m Russian: экле́ктик (ru) m (ekléktik) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: еклектик m Roman: eklektik (sh) m Spanish: ecléctico (es)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French éclectique.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eˈklek.tik/

Adjective

eclectic m or n (feminine singular eclectică, masculine plural eclectici, feminine and neuter plural eclectice)

1. eclectic

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	eclectic		eclectică		eclectici	eclectice
	definite	eclecticul		eclectica		eclecticii	eclecticele
genitive- dative	indefinite	eclectic		eclectice		eclectici	eclectice
	definite	eclecticului		eclecticei		eclecticilor	eclecticelor