# eclectic

Pronunciation: US/AUS say "ek-LEK-tik" /ɛkˈlɛk.tɪk/; UK say "i-KLEK-tik" /ɪˈklɛk.tɪk/

## Adjective

1. Drawing on or made up of a wide range of different sources, ideas, methods, or styles, rather than following just one.
   - Simple: Choosing from or mixing many different kinds of ideas, styles, or things, not just one.
   - _He has an eclectic taste in books, from medieval history to comic novels._
   - _The shop sells an eclectic mix of antique clocks, surfboards, and handmade soap._

## Noun

2. A person who chooses and combines what seems best from various doctrines, methods, or styles.
   - Simple: A person who takes the best parts of different ideas or styles and mixes them.
   - _In philosophy she was an eclectic, keeping what she found convincing in both the Stoics and the Epicureans._
   - _The festival brings together musical eclectics who borrow freely from blues, folk, and Indian classical traditions._

## Origin

Ancient Greek ἐκ (ek, "out, from") and λέγω (légō, "I choose, count") combined in ἐκλέγω (eklégō, "I pick, choose"), which gave ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós, "selective"). French took this as éclectique, and English borrowed the French word. Elect is a related word.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/eclectic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).