eclectic:

(also ‘eclecticist‘; plural: ‘eclectics‘; pronunciation: all the three ‘c’s’ in this word are pronounced with a ‘k’ sound as in “king” — ‘ek.lek.tik’)

‘eclectic’ = not following any one particular system or set of ideas in doing things in forming a concept, but using parts of several different ones

a person who follows or applies eclectic method in doing things, i.e. not following one particular system or set of ideas but using different ones from different sources to create something new — in fields such as philosophy, architecture, medicine, etc.,

Nastia Liukin, champion gymnast, viewed as an electic/electicist

e.g.

Martha is the best example of an eclectic; whatever she does is a mix of different ideas.

It has been found out that a person or a community that is eclectic survives the hardships of time and lives on and on, but anyone or anything that sticks to a single way, method or approach may find it hard to stand the test of time.

As the times change, more and more orthodox people are becoming eclectics and enjoying the benefits of being eclectic which were not experienced before.

For an article that talks of American Idol and the eclectic, please click here, for a blog post that explains what an eclectic is, please click here, for an article that tells us a story about Cicero and the eclectics in Ancient Rome, please click here and for an advertisement in which we see this word used for a person, please click here.

Rem Koolhaas, eminent architect and artist, viewed as an eclectic/eclecticist

Note: ‘Eclectic’ is more commonly used as an adjective to refer to someone or something that follows different systems or ideas or something that is made of different sources, e.g. an ‘eclectic approach’, ‘eclectic tradition’, ‘eclectic taste’, ‘eclectic therapist’, ‘eclectic pagan’, etc. For a serious piece of writing that explains what ‘eclectic pagan’, in which we can see ‘eclectic being used as an adjective, please click here & for an article on eclectic approach towards English language teaching, please click here.