PASTORAL

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin ~is, from pastor herdsman Date: 15th century 1. a. of, relating to, or composed of shepherds or herdsmen, devoted to or based on livestock raising, of or relating to the countryside ; not urban , portraying or expressive of the life of shepherds or country people especially in an idealized and conventionalized manner , pleasingly peaceful and innocent ; idyllic , 2. of or relating to spiritual care or guidance especially of a congregation, of or relating to the pastor of a church, ~ly adverb ~ness noun II. noun Date: 1584 1. a literary work (as a poem or play) dealing with shepherds or rural life in a usually artificial manner and typically drawing a contrast between the innocence and serenity of the simple life and the misery and corruption of city and especially court life, ~ poetry or drama, a rural picture or scene, ~e 1a, crosier 1, a letter of a pastor to his charge: as, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese, a letter of the house of bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church to be read in each parish