Definition of pastoral adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary



    BrE BrE//ˈpɑːstərəl//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ˈpæstərəl//
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  1. 1relating to the work of a priest or teacher in giving help and advice on personal matters, not just those connected with religion or education pastoral care the church’s pastoral ministry in the inner cities.
  2. 2showing country life or the countryside, especially in a romantic way a pastoral scene/poem/symphony
  3. 3relating to the farming of animals agricultural and pastoral practices
  4. Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin pastoralis ‘relating to a shepherd’, from pastor ‘shepherd’, from past- ‘fed, grazed’, from the verb pascere.
See the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary entry: pastoral