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pastoral


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  2.  Relating  to  the  care  of  souls,  or  to  the  pastor  of  a 
  church;  as  pastoral  duties;  a  pastoral  letter. 
 
  {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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  A  pastoral  is  a  poem  in  which  any  action  or  passion 
  is  represented  by  its  effects  on  a  country  life. 
  --Rambler. 
 
  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). 
 
  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. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  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}] 
  3:  used  of  idealized  country  life;  "a  country  life  of  arcadian 
  contentment";  "a  pleasant  bucolic  scene";  "charming  in  its 
  pastoral  setting";  "rustic  tranquility"  [syn:  {arcadian}, 
  {bucolic},  {rustic}] 
  4:  suggestive  of  an  idyll;  charmingly  simple  and  serene;  "his 
  idyllic  life  in  Tahiti";  "the  pastoral  legends  of 
  America's  Golden  Age"  [syn:  {idyllic}] 
  n  1:  a  musical  composition  that  evokes  rural  life  [syn:  {pastorale}, 
  {idyll}] 
  2:  a  letter  from  a  pastor  to  the  congregation 
  3:  a  literary  work  idealizing  the  rural  life  (especially  the 
  life  of  shepherds) 




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