Initially, I wanted to know the etymology of eclectic. Then I saw that it referred to lecture {noun}:
late 14c., "action of reading, that which is read," from Medieval Latin lectura “a reading, lecture,” from Latin lectus, past participle of legere "to read," originally "to gather, collect, pick out, choose" (compare election), from PIE *leg- (1) "to pick together, gather, collect"** (cognates: Greek legein "to say, tell, speak, declare," originally, in Homer, "to pick out, select, collect, enumerate;" lexis "speech, diction;" logos "word, speech, thought, account;" Latin lignum "wood, firewood," literally "that which is gathered").
To read is to "pick out words."
Meaning "action of reading (a lesson) aloud" is from 1520s. That of "a discourse on a given subject before an audience for purposes of instruction" is from 1530s.
1. How did the PIE root * leg- evolve to mean “to read”?
2. How can the explanation in grey be true? How can you claim to read something, if you pick out words
? In that case you're skimming (and not reading) a text.
I heed the Etymological Fallacy, but what are some right ways of interpreting this etymology, so that it feels reasonable and intuitive?.