pastor
[ pas-ter, pah-ster ]
/ ˈpæs tər, ˈpɑ stər /
noun
a minister or priest in charge of a church.
a person having spiritual care of a number of persons.
Ornithology. any of various starlings, especially Sturnus roseus (rosy pastor) of Europe and Asia.
verb (used with object)
to serve as the pastor of: He pastored the church here for many years.
RELATED CONTENT
This American Children’s Rhyme Isn’t So American After All . . .Remember eeny, meeny, miney, moe? A group of kids get together to play a game of Tag. Or, maybe they’re in the middle of a kickball game and the ball’s flown over into nasty Mr. Hunchguts’ yard. In both scenarios, who is it? Which of the rosy-faced children will be designated the chaser in Tag, or the (gulp) fetcher of the kickball from haunted Hunchguts’ …
Nearby words
pasting, pastis, pastitsio, pastness, pasto, pastor, pastorage, pastoral, pastoral counseling, pastoral epistle, pastoral epistles
Origin of pastor
Related formspas·tor·less, adjectivepas·tor·like, pas·tor·ly, adjectivesub·pas·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pastor
British Dictionary definitions for pastor
pastor
/ (ˈpɑːstə) /
noun
a clergyman or priest in charge of a congregation
a person who exercises spiritual guidance over a number of people
an archaic word for shepherd (def. 1)
Also called: rosy pastor a S Asian starling, Sturnus roseus, having glossy black head and wings and a pale pink body
Derived Formspastorship, noun
Word Origin for pastor
C14: from Latin: shepherd, from pascere to feed
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pastor
pastor
late 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "shepherd," also "spiritual guide, shepherd of souls," from Old French pastor, pastur "herdsman, shepherd" (12c.), from Latin pastorem (nominative pastor) "shepherd," from pastus, past participle of pascere "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat," from PIE root *pa- "to tend, keep, pasture, feed, guard, protect" (see food). The spiritual sense was in Church Latin (cf. Gregory's "Cura Pastoralis"). The verb in the Christian sense is from 1872.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for pastor
pastor
In some groups of Christians (see also Christian), the clergyman in charge of an individual congregation. The term is used this way in the Lutheran Church and Roman Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, by Baptists and in the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.