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