Philosophy & ThoughtGreek → English
Eclectic
/ɪˈklɛktɪk/adjective
Drawn from a wide range of sources rather than a single one.
The Greek roots
ἐκ
ek
out of
λέγειν
légein
to pick, gather
Literally: “picking out”
The story of the word
There was a real school, or nearly one: Potamon of Alexandria was said to have founded a sect that chose doctrines from Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics instead of committing to any of them. ἐκλεκτικός means given to choosing, from ἐκλέγειν, to pick out, the same verb that produced ἐκλεκτοί, the elect of Christian scripture. English took the philosophical sense in the 1680s and only later applied it to bookshelves, playlists and taste.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 1680s
Same family
eclogueelectlexicondialect
In a sentence
His record collection was eclectic to the point of incoherence.
The house had an eclectic look, Victorian bones and Danish chairs.