pastoral

[ pas-ter-uhl, pah-ster- ]

/ ˈpæs tər əl, ˈpɑ stər- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pastoral ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas: pastoral scenery; the pastoral life.

pertaining to the country or to life in the country; rural; rustic.

portraying or suggesting idyllically the life of shepherds or of the country, as a work of literature, art, or music: pastoral poetry; a pastoral symphony.

of, relating to, or consisting of shepherds.

of or relating to a pastor or the duties of a pastor: pastoral visits to a hospital.

used for pasture, as land.

noun

a poem, play, or the like, dealing with the life of shepherds, commonly in a conventional or artificial manner, or with simple rural life generally; a bucolic.

a picture or work of art representing the shepherds' life.

Music. pastorale.

a treatise on the duties of a pastor.

a letter to the people from their spiritual pastor.

a letter to the clergy or people of an ecclesiastical district from its bishop.

Also called pastoral staff. crosier(def 1).

Nearby words

pastitsio, pastness, pasto, pastor, pastorage, pastoral, pastoral counseling, pastoral epistle, pastoral epistles, pastoral letter, pastoral prayer

Origin of pastoral

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pāstōrālis, equivalent to pāstōr-, stem of pāstor (see pastor) + -ālis -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR pastoral

1 rustic, rural, simple.

3 bucolic, idyllic.

7 eclogue, idyll; georgic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pastoral ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

pas·to·ral·ly, adverbnon·pas·to·ral, adjective, nounnon·pas·to·ral·ly, adverbsem·i·pas·to·ral, adjective

sem·i·pas·to·ral·ly, adverbun·pas·to·ral, adjectiveun·pas·to·ral·ly, adverb

Can be confusedpastoral pastorale

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pastoral

The carriage drivers insist that a great majority of their horses live to enjoy a pastoral retirement.
Central Park’s Carriages Saved This Horse|Michael Daly|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a novel of suspense and secrets, a pastoral novel that slowly tears the pastoral apart.
How I Write: Paul Lynch|Noah Charney|December 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For most of the year, pastoral Pag is home to roughly eight thousand residents and thirty thousand indigenous sheep.
Party on in Pag: The Controversy on Croatia’s Hottest Island|Kristin Vukovic|August 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Kristin Vuković on the pastoral island struggling to attract a different kind of tourist.
Party on in Pag: The Controversy on Croatia’s Hottest Island|Kristin Vukovic|August 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Cryptically, he added that he would like women to have more leadership roles in administrative and pastoral activities.
What About Women, Pope Francis?|Janine di Giovanni|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After his return059/55 he applied himself with zeal and success to his pastoral duties.
Deaconesses in Europe|Jane M. Bancroft
She seemed to take stock of his learning and to mock at the idea of his pastoral claims.
Not Like Other Girls|Rosa N. Carey
Just as at the pastoral stage, so in this, the cattle and the growing grain must be protected from attacks by man and beast.
Ethics|John Dewey and James Hayden Tufts
Through the marvelously clear air the smoke of the pastoral village of Poker Flat rose miles away.
The Short-story|William Patterson Atkinson
And taking all together it will be seen that the pastoral wealth of the people was largely claimed.
The Expositor's Bible:The Book of Numbers|Robert A. Watson

British Dictionary definitions for pastoral

pastoral

/ (ˈpɑːstərəl) /

adjective

of, characterized by, or depicting rural life, scenery, etc

(of a literary work) dealing with an idealized form of rural existence in a conventional way

(of land) used for pasture

denoting or relating to the branch of theology dealing with the duties of a clergyman or priest to his congregation

of or relating to a clergyman or priest in charge of a congregation or his duties as such

of or relating to a teacher's responsibility for the personal, as the distinct from the educational, development of pupils

of or relating to shepherds, their work, etc

noun

a literary work or picture portraying rural life, esp the lives of shepherds in an idealizing waySee also eclogue

music a variant of pastorale

Christianity

a letter from a clergyman to the people under his charge
the letter of a bishop to the clergy or people of his diocese
Also called: pastoral staff the crosier or staff carried by a bishop as a symbol of his pastoral responsibilities

Derived Formspastoralism, nounpastorally, adverb

Word Origin for pastoral

C15: from Latin, from pastor

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 pastoral

pastoral

adj.

"of or pertaining to shepherds," early 15c., from Old French pastoral (13c.), from Latin pastoralis "of herdsmen, of shepherds," from pastor (see pastor (n.)). The noun sense of "poem dealing with country life generally" is from 1580s.

Culture definitions for pastoral

pastoral

A work of art that celebrates the cultivated enjoyment of the countryside. The poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” by Christopher Marlowe, is a pastoral. Its first stanza reads:

Come live with me, and be my love;
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

pastoral

adjective

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pastoral

Examples from the Web for pastoral

British Dictionary definitions for pastoral

pastoral

adjective

noun

Word Origin for pastoral

Word Origin and History for pastoral

pastoral

Culture definitions for pastoral

pastoral