Eclectic from Greek eklektikos (selective) = ek- (out) + legein (to gather/choose), PIE *leǵ- (to gather). Originally for philosophers who chose the best from rival schools. The *leǵ- root's journey from gathering sticks to curating philosophy mirrors civilisation itself.
Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad range of sources; selecting the best from various doctrines, methods, or styles.
From Late Latin eclecticus, from Greek eklektikós (selective, choosing the best from various sources), from eklégein (to pick out, to select), composed of ek- (out, from) + légein (to pick, to gather, to choose, to speak), from PIE *leǵ- (to collect, to gather). The PIE root *leǵ- is extraordinarily productive: Latin legere (to gather, to read) produced collect, elect, elegant, intellect, lecture, lesson, legend, legion, diligent, negligent, and select; Greek légein (to speak, having evolved from gathering-words-together) produced logic, dialogue, monologue, analogy, catalogue, epilogue, and lexicon. Eclectic was first applied to a school of Greek philosophers (2nd–3rd century CE) who selected
PIE *leǵ- originally meant 'to gather sticks' — picking up firewood. From that: gathering words (lexicon), gathering laws (legal), gathering reason (logic), gathering the best ideas from every school (eclectic). The semantic arc from picking up kindling to curating philosophy mirrors civilisation's own arc from the physical to the intellectual.