eclectic

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.

   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. 2
   adj

   Unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous.

   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.

3. 3
   noun

   Someone who selects according to the eclectic method.

   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.

4. 4
   adj

   selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas

5. 5
   noun

   someone who selects according to the eclectic method

Etymology

From French éclectique, from Ancient Greek ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós, “selective”), from ἐκλέγω (eklégō, “to pick, choose”), from ἐκ (ek, “out, from”) + λέγω (légō, “to choose, count”). Cognate to elect.