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 land"; "a pastoral economy"; "pastoral seminomadic people";
   - bucolic
    
3. (used with regard to idealized country life) idyllically rustic
   "charming in its pastoral setting";
   - arcadian, bucolic
    
4. Relating to the countryside or rural areas in general
   "The pastoral landscape was dotted with farms"

1. A musical composition that evokes rural life
   "The composer's pastoral featured the sounds of birdsong and flowing streams";
   - pastorale, idyll, idyl [US]
    
2. A letter from a pastor to the congregation
   "The pastor issued a pastoral addressing recent concerns within the church community"
    
3. A literary work idealizing the rural life (especially the life of shepherds)
   "Theocritus' Idylls are classic examples of pastoral poetry"

Derived forms: pastorals

See also: rural

Type of: composition, letter, literary composition, literary work, missive, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music

Encyclopedia: Pastoral