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Eclectic vs Encyclopedic - What's the difference?

eclectic | encyclopedic |

As adjectives the difference between eclectic and encyclopedic

is that eclectic is selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles while encyclopedic is of or relating to the characteristics of an encyclopedia; concerning all subjects, having comprehensive information or knowledge.

As a noun eclectic

is someone who selects according to the eclectic method.

eclectic

English

Alternative forms

* eclectick (obsolete)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.
  • * 1893 , John Robson, Hinduism and its Relations to Christianity , page 211, 214
    • 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.
  • Unrelated and unspecialized; heterogeneous.
  • * 1983 , Peter J. Wilson, Man, the Promising Primate: The Conditions of Human Evolution , page 140
    • 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.
  • * 2006 , W. Frederick Zimmerman, Should Barack Obama Be President? , page 153
    • Colvin said Obama has an eclectic taste in music, listening to everything from Indonesian flute music to OutKast to Motown.

    Derived terms

    * eclectically * eclecticism

    Synonyms

    * (unrelated and unspecialized) heterogeneous

    Antonyms

    * (selecting a mixture of doctrines) exclusive, homogeneous, orthodox, standard, uniform

    See also

    * cherry pick * heteroclite

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who selects according to the eclectic method.

    • encyclopedic

    English

    Alternative forms

    * encyclopaedic *

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of or relating to the characteristics of an encyclopedia; concerning all subjects, having comprehensive information or knowledge.
  • (lexicography) Relating to or containing encyclopedic information rather than only linguistic or lexical information; about facts and concepts, and not only a word or term; including proper names, biographical and geographical information and illustrations.
  • * 2001 , Sidney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography , 2nd ed, Scribner:
    • [p 151] Although separate encyclopedic sections have nothing to do with the dictionary proper, there are no compelling logical reasons for condemning them.
    [p 212] Terms derived from names fall into three categories. Some, like Chomskyan'', refer to a person and the work done by that person, or to a place or a person from that place (''Virginian, Londoner ), and should be defined only in relation to the person or place. They are essentially encyclopedic entries and, if the dictionary contains an entry for the person or place in question, could well be run on without a separate definition.
    [p 359] The difficulty of distinguishing between lexical units and items in a nomenclature is especially nettlesome in specialized dictionaries, which are by their nature more encyclopedic than general dictionaries.

    Synonyms

    * encyclopedical, , encyclopaedical

    Related terms

    * encyclopedicity * cycle

    References

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