pastoral
UK /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/ · US /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ adjective, noun
Forms pastorals
- adjective Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock.
- adjective Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry. “We were living a pastoral life.”
- adjective Relating to the care of souls, to the pastor of a church or to any local religious leader charged with the service of individual parishioners, i.e. a priest or rabbi. “pastoral duties”
- noun A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyll; a bucolic.
- noun (music) A cantata relating to rural life; a composition for instruments characterized by simplicity and sweetness; a lyrical composition the subject of which is taken from rural life.
- noun (religion, Christianity) A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese.
- noun (religion, Christianity) A letter of the House of Bishops, to be read in each parish.
Synonyms
shepherdish shepherdly bucolic rustic cleric clerical black-collar pastorale idyll idyl arcadian
Etymology
From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to shepherds; hence, relating to rural life and scenes; as, a pastoral life.
- adjective Relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church; as, pastoral duties; a pastoral letter. Pastoral staff (Eccl.), a staff, usually of the form of a shepherd's crook, borne as an official emblem by a bishop, abbot, abbess, or other prelate privileged to carry it. See Crook, and Crosier.
- noun A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyl; a bucolic.
- noun A cantata relating to rural life; a composition for instruments characterized by simplicity and sweetness; a lyrical composition the subject of which is taken from rural life. Moore (Encyc. of Music).
Etymology [L. pastoralis: cf. F. pastoral. See Pastor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pastoral”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details