pastoral

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ UK /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #31284

Meanings

1

adj
Showing or describing peaceful, idealized country life.

The painting captured a pastoral scene of sheep grazing in green fields.
2

adj
Relating to the care and spiritual guidance a priest or minister gives to people.

The new minister took his pastoral duties very seriously.
3

noun
A poem or work of art that idealizes the simple life of the countryside.

The poet was famous for his pastorals about shepherds and meadows.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · showing or describing... bucolic rusticarcadian

2 adj · relating to the care and... clerical

Word family

Derived forms agropastoralantipastoralcyberpastoralneopastoralnonpastoralpastoralisepastoralismpastoralistpastoralizepastorallypastoralnessprepastoral

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pastoral letter
a letter from a religious leader giving guidance to members of a church

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Pastoral entered late Middle English from Latin pastoralis ‘relating to a shepherd’. Its use in literary, artistic, and musical contexts dates from the early 16th century.

Etymology

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

*peh₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# pastoral

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/
**Frequency rank:** 31284

## Meanings
1. Showing or describing peaceful, idealized country life.
2. Relating to the care and spiritual guidance a priest or minister gives to people.
3. A poem or work of art that idealizes the simple life of the countryside.

## Examples
- The painting captured a pastoral scene of sheep grazing in green fields.
- The new minister took his pastoral duties very seriously.
- The poet was famous for his pastorals about shepherds and meadows.

## Derived Forms
- agropastoral
- antipastoral
- cyberpastoral
- neopastoral
- nonpastoral
- pastoralise
- pastoralism
- pastoralist
- pastoralize
- pastorally
- pastoralness
- prepastoral

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *peh₂-

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

## AI Etymology
Pastoral comes from Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis. Modern senses include showing or describing peaceful, idealized country life and relating to the care and spiritual guidance a priest or minister gives to people. The wider word family includes derivatives such as agropastoral, antipastoral, cyberpastoral, neopastoral, nonpastoral, and pastoralise.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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