pastoral

Meanings

Plural: pastorals

Noun

• a musical composition that evokes rural life
• a letter from a pastor to the congregation
• a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds)
• 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.

Adjective

• of or relating to a pastor
  • "pastoral work"
  • "a pastoral letter"
• relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle
  • "pastoral seminomadic people"
  • "pastoral land"
  • "a pastoral economy"

Adjective Satellite

• (used with regard to idealized country life) idyllically rustic
  • "charming in its pastoral setting"

Adj

• 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.

Synonyms

arcadian, bucolic, idyl, idyll, pastorale

Related Words

al pastor

Anagrams of pastoral