Dictionary

pastoral en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ (UK)
• /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ (US)
• /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/ (UK) trap–bath split
• (Southern-England) audio /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/
• /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/ (US) non-standard but common
• (Southern-England) audio /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/
• /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/ (UK) non-standard but common

Etymology

From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

Meanings

1. Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock.
   • Like the Mesolithic age of 10,000-8000 B.C., the period 6000-4000 B.C. seems to be one of the fall of fortresses and the rise of pastoral nomadism. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 160:
2. Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry.
   • […] these pastoral farms, / Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees! 1798, Wordsworth, Lines Composed a Few Lines Above Tintern Abbey, lines 16–18:
   • We were living a pastoral life.
   • He wanders west as far as Memphis, a solitary migrant upon that flat and pastoral landscape. 1985, Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian […] , →OCLC:
   • There was a tone, too, of pastoral poetry shed over the new scenes to which they were just introduced, that had a greater effect from the contrast to those, artificial and crowded, which they had just left. 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 219–220:
3. 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.
   • pastoral duties
   • a pastoral letter
   • “In terms of pastoral consequences,” Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who leads the Vatican’s office on doctrine, said in a news conference Monday, “the principle of welcoming all is clear in the words of Pope Francis.” 2024 April 8, Jason Horowitz, Elisabetta Povoledo, quoting Víctor Manuel Fernández, “Vatican Document Casts Gender Change and Fluidity as Threat to Human Dignity”, in The New York Times:

Forms

Deriveds

pastoral theology · agropastoral · pastoralness · nonpastoral · unpastoral · pastoral charge · pastoralism · pastoralise · pastoral care · prepastoral · silvipastoral · antipastoral · silvopastoral · pastoral letter · pastorally · cyberpastoral · semipastoral · pastoral staff · pastoralize · pastoralist · neopastoral

Relateds

al pastor

Synonyms

black-collar · cleric · clerical · shepherdly · pastoral · rustic · clerical · bucolic · cleric · shepherdish

Translations (26)

pt pastoral (of or pertaining to shepherds) · pl duszpasterski (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · fi pastoraalinen (of or pertaining to shepherds) · nl pastoraal (of or pertaining to shepherds) · fr pastoral (of or pertaining to shepherds) · bg пасторски (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · fi papillinen (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · grc βουκολικός (of or pertaining to shepherds) · fr pastoral (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · el βουκολικός (of or pertaining to shepherds) · bg пастирски (of or pertaining to shepherds) · sv själasörjande (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · pt pastoral (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · pl pasterski (of or pertaining to shepherds) · ru пастуший (of or pertaining to shepherds) · pl pastoralny (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · pt pastoril (of or pertaining to shepherds) · cmn 主教的 (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · pl pasterski (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · el ποιμενικός (of or pertaining to shepherds) · cmn 牧人的 (of or pertaining to shepherds) · el ποιμαντικός (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · sv pastoral (of or pertaining to shepherds) · es pastoral (of or pertaining to shepherds) · eo pastra (relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church) · fi paimen- (of or pertaining to shepherds)

pastoral en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ (UK)
• /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ (US)
• /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/ (UK) trap–bath split
• (Southern-England) audio /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/
• /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/ (US) non-standard but common
• (Southern-England) audio /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/
• /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/ (UK) non-standard but common

Etymology

From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

Meanings

1. A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyll; a bucolic.
   • Ethel was silent from surprise: she had prepared herself for anger—even sorrow; but ridicule left her without an answer. What could she say to a hearer, who only smiled, and to whom emotion was only a scene in a pastoral? 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 115:
2. 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.
3. A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese.
4. A letter of the House of Bishops, to be read in each parish.

Forms

Translations (14)

fi paimenkirje (letter of a pastor) · ru пастора́ль (cantata) · fi pastoraali (poem) · fi paimenkirje (letter of the house of bishops) · nl herderlijke brief (letter of a pastor) · pl sielanka (poem) · bg пасторал (poem) · fi piispan kirje (letter of the house of bishops) · nl pastorale (poem) · cmn 田园诗 (poem) · fi pastoraali (cantata) · pl list pasterski (letter of the house of bishops) · nl pastorale (cantata) · ru пастора́ль (poem)