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):

  (file)

• 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^[1]:

     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^[2], 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