ἐκλεκτικός

Forms

ἐκλεκτικός (eklektikós) m (feminine ἐκλεκτική, neuter ἐκλεκτικόν); first/second declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐκλέγω (eklégō) + -τικός (-tikós), the verb meaning “to pick out”.^[3] The verb is from ἐκ (ek, “out, from”) and λέγω (légō, “to choose, to count”).^[3][4] Etymonline gives the nearer base as ἐκλεκτός (eklektós, “selected”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in the fragments of the Stoic Chrysippus, in the 3rd century BC: a man whom the god has made “able to choose” such things, and a way that selects what makes for virtue in the arts.^[2][1]

Semantic evolution

The Stoics also spoke of a value “worthy of choice”, as in Antipater of Tarsus, and Plutarch uses it too.^[2] In Dionysius of Halicarnassus it means discerning, able to pick the best words, and in Clement of Alexandria the comparative means “with more discernment”.^[2]

Its best-known use is for philosophers who took from every school what pleased them: Galen names “the Eclectics”, and Diogenes Laertius speaks of the eclectic school of Potamon of Alexandria,^[1][2] and Galen uses it of medical schools too.^[1][2] Clement of Alexandria calls this whole selection philosophy.^[2]

From it came French éclectique (1650s) and English eclectic (1680s), first of these ancient philosophers; the broader sense “drawn from diverse sources” appears in 1847.^[4] Modern Greek εκλεκτικός (eklektikós) is a learned word for a person who is demanding in their choices and for what acts on a part only (a drug's selective action); the plural continues the Hellenistic name of the Eclectics.^[5]

Timeline

• 3rd century BC – Chrysippus uses it of a person able to choose and of a selective way.^[2][1]
• 2nd century BC – Antipater of Tarsus speaks of a value worthy of choice.^[2]
• 1st century BC – Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses it for “discerning, selective”.^[2][6]
• 2nd century AD – Galen names the Eclectic philosophers and medical school.^[1][2]
• 3rd century AD – Diogenes Laertius uses it of the school of Potamon of Alexandria.^[2][1]
• 1680s – English eclectic is first recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Stoic) Able to make a choice; of value, worthy of being chosen.^[1][2]
2. Picking out, selective, discerning.^[1][2]
3. (philosophy, medicine) Eclectic, of philosophers and schools who chose doctrines from every system; as a plural noun, the Eclectics.^[1][2]

Related words

• ἐκλέγω (eklégō)
• ἐκλεκτός (eklektós)
• ἐκλογή (eklogḗ)
• English eclectic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
3. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux