Dictionary  pas•to•ralPronunciation: (pas'tur-ul, pä'stur-), [key] —adj. 1. having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas: pastoral scenery; the pastoral life. 2. pertaining to the country or to life in the country; rural; rustic. 3. portraying or suggesting idyllically the life of shepherds or of the country, as a work of literature, art, or music: pastoral poetry; a pastoral symphony. 4. of, pertaining to, or consisting of shepherds. 5. of or pertaining to a pastor or the duties of a pastor: pastoral visits to a hospital. 6. used for pasture, as land. —n. 1. a poem, play, or the like, dealing with the life of shepherds, commonly in a conventional or artificial manner, or with simple rural life generally; a bucolic. 2. a picture or work of art representing the shepherds' life. 3. Music.pastorale. 4. a treatise on the duties of a pastor. 5. a letter to the people from their spiritual pastor. 6. a letter to the clergy or people of an ecclesiastical district from its bishop. 7. Also called pas'toral staff'. crosier (def. 1). Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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