EC'LOGUE, noun ec'log. [Gr. choice, to select.] Literally, a select piece. Hence, in poetry, a pastoral composition, in which shepherds are introduced conversing with each other, as the eclogues of Virgil; or it is a little elegant composition in a simple natural style and manner. An eclogue differs from an idyllion, in being appropriated to pieces in which shepherds are introduced.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI