| Definitions | | pastoral |
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noun
- A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyl; a bucolic.
- Music: 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. Moore
- Ecclesiastics: A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese; also (Prot. Epis. Ch.), a letter of the House of Bishops, to be read in each parish.
adjective
- Of or pertaining to shepherds; hence, relating to rural life and scenes; as, a pastoral life.
- Quotations
- He wanders west as far as Memphis, a solitary migrant upon that flat and landscape. - 1985 w:Cormac McCarthy?, McCarthy?, w:Blood Meridian, Blood Meridian, chapter 1.
- Relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church; as, pastoral duties; a pastoral letter.
Etymology: pastoralis, from pastor, shepherd, + adjective suffix -alis
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Full Definition of pastoral
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