pastor

B2 Topic:Religion & Belief

US /ˈpæs.tɚ/ UK /ˈpɑː.stə/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like pester /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #5952

Meanings

1

noun
A leader of a Christian church who guides and cares for its members.

The pastor welcomed everyone to the Sunday service.
2

verb
To lead and care for a church congregation.

He pastored a small church in Texas for twenty years.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a leader of a christian... minister shepherd

Word family

Forms pastoredpastoringpastors

Derived forms copastorimpastorpastoragepastoralpastoratepastoresspastorhoodpastorizepastorlesspastorlikepastorlypastorpreneur

Simplified etymology

Pastor entered English in the late Middle Ages from Latin pastor ‘shepherd, feeder’. Its clerical use reflects the image of a clergyman as the shepherd of a flock.

Etymology

From Middle English pastour, from Old French pastor (Modern French pasteur), from Latin pāstor.

*peh₂- Proto-Indo-European pastour Middle English pastor Old French pāstor Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Religion & Belief

External links

# pastor

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpæs.tɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɑː.stə/
**Frequency rank:** 5952

## Meanings
1. A leader of a Christian church who guides and cares for its members.
2. To lead and care for a church congregation.

## Examples
- The pastor welcomed everyone to the Sunday service.
- He pastored a small church in Texas for twenty years.

## Derived Forms
- copastor
- impastor
- pastorage
- pastoral
- pastorate
- pastoress
- pastorhood
- pastorize
- pastorless
- pastorlike
- pastorly
- pastorpreneur

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peh₂-
- Root: pastour
- Root: pastor
- Root: pāstor

## Etymology
From Middle English pastour, from Old French pastor (Modern French pasteur), from Latin pāstor.

## AI Etymology
Pastor comes from Middle English pastour, from Old French pastor (Modern French pasteur), from Latin pāstor. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, Middle English pastour, Old French pastor, and Latin pāstor. Modern senses include a leader of a Christian church who guides and cares for its members and to lead and care for a church congregation. The wider word family includes derivatives such as copastor, impastor, pastorage, pastoral, pastorate, and pastoress.

## Topics
- Religion & Belief

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