DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan
pas·to·ral /ˈpæst(ə)rəl/
牧歌,田園詩(a.)牧人的,田園生活的,牧師的
Pas·tor·al a.
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.
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.
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.
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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)