pastoral

Meanings

Adjective

• Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock
• Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry.
• 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.

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.
• 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.
• A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese.
• A letter of the House of Bishops, to be read in each parish.

Origin

• From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pastoralis, from pāstor, + adjective suffix -alis.