a. | 1. | Of or pertaining to shepherds; hence, relating to rural life and scenes; | ||||||
2. | Relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church;
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n. | 1. | A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyl; a bucolic. | ||||||
2. | (Mus.) 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. | (Eccl.) A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese; also |
Noun | 1. | pastoral - a musical composition that evokes rural life |
2. | pastoral - a letter from a pastor to the congregation | |
3. | pastoral - a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds) | |
Adj. | 1. | pastoral - of or relating to a pastor; "pastoral work"; "a pastoral letter" |
2. | pastoral - relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle; "pastoral seminomadic people"; "pastoral land"; "a pastoral economy" Synonyms: bucolic | |
3. | pastoral - used of idealized country life; "a country life of arcadian contentment"; "a pleasant bucolic scene"; "charming in its pastoral setting"; "rustic tranquility" | |
4. | pastoral - suggestive of an idyll; charmingly simple and serene; "his idyllic life in Tahiti"; "the pastoral legends of America's Golden Age" Synonyms: idyllic |