The story
Coined by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1784–1841), a physician who lived among the Native Americans and observed their use of medicinal plants.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
eclectic medicine
Today it means: A branch of American medicine that made use of botanical remedies along with other substances and physical therapy practices, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Full definition →