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 (AU):

  (file)

• 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, page 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.

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.

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

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

Derived terms

• eclectically
• eclecticism

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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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.

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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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

Declension of eclectic

		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