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, 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.

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^[1], 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

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

Derived terms

• eclectically
• eclecticism
• eclectic medicine

 

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.

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

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