Search Result for "pastoral": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (3)

1. a musical composition that evokes rural life;
[syn: pastorale, pastoral, idyll, idyl]

2. a letter from a pastor to the congregation;

3. a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds);


ADJECTIVE (3)

1. of or relating to a pastor;
- Example: "pastoral work"
- Example: "a pastoral letter"

2. relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep or cattle;
- Example: "pastoral seminomadic people"
- Example: "pastoral land"
- Example: "a pastoral economy"
[syn: bucolic, pastoral]

3. (used with regard to idealized country life) idyllically rustic;
- Example: "a country life of arcadian contentment"
- Example: "a pleasant bucolic scene"
- Example: "charming in its pastoral setting"
- Example: "rustic tranquility"
[syn: arcadian, bucolic, pastoral]



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pastoral \Pas"tor*al\, a. [L. pastoralis: cf. F. pastoral. See
   Pastor.]
   1. Of or pertaining to shepherds; hence, relating to rural
      life and scenes; as, a pastoral life.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a
      church; as, pastoral duties; a pastoral letter.
      [1913 Webster]

   Pastoral staff (Eccl.), a staff, usually of the form of a
      shepherd's crook, borne as an official emblem by a bishop,
      abbot, abbess, or other prelate privileged to carry it.
      See Crook, and Crosier.

   Pastoral Theology, that part of theology which treats of
      the duties of pastors.
      [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pastoral \Pas"tor*al\, 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.
      [1913 Webster]

            A pastoral is a poem in which any action or passion
            is represented by its effects on a country life.
                                                  --Rambler.
      [1913 Webster]

   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. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Eccl.) 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.
      [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

pastoral
    adj 1: of or relating to a pastor; "pastoral work"; "a pastoral
           letter"
    2: relating to shepherds or herdsmen or devoted to raising sheep
       or cattle; "pastoral seminomadic people"; "pastoral land"; "a
       pastoral economy" [syn: bucolic, pastoral]
    3: (used with regard to idealized country life) idyllically
       rustic; "a country life of arcadian contentment"; "a pleasant
       bucolic scene"; "charming in its pastoral setting"; "rustic
       tranquility" [syn: arcadian, bucolic, pastoral]
    n 1: a musical composition that evokes rural life [syn:
         pastorale, pastoral, idyll, idyl]
    2: a letter from a pastor to the congregation
    3: a literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the
       life of shepherds)