pastoral Hear it!

pastoral definition

pas·to·ral (-əl)

adjective

  1. of shepherds or their work, way of life, etc.
  2. of or portraying rural life or, formerly, a highly conventionalized form of rustic life among shepherds, usually in an idealized way
  3. of pastoral literature or a pastoral
  4. characteristic of rural life, idealized as peaceful, simple, and natural
  5. of or relating to a pastor

Etymology: ME pastoralle < L pastoralis < pastor, a shepherd: see pastor

noun

  1. a piece of literature dealing, usually in an idealized way, with rural life; formerly, specif., a poem, play, etc. treating the rustic lives and loves of shepherds in a conventionalized, artificial manner
  2. such writing as a literary form
  3. a pastoral picture or scene
  4. an official letter or document, as on doctrine or religious observance, issued by a bishop or group of bishops to persons within their jurisdiction
  5. Music pastorale

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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