pastoral

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɑːstə.ɹəl/ / /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ / /ˌpæsˈtɔːɹəl/

Etymology: From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock.
“Like the Mesolithic age of 10,000-8000 B.C., the period 6000-4000 B.C. seems to be one of the fall of fortresses and the rise of pastoral nomadism.”
Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry.
“We were living a pastoral life.”
“[…] these pastoral farms, / Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!”
Relating to the care of souls, to the pastor of a church or to any local religious leader charged with the service of individual parishioners, i.e. a priest or rabbi.
“pastoral duties”
“a pastoral letter”

Etymology: From Middle French, Old French pastoral, from Latin pāstōrālis, from pāstor (“shepherd”), + adjective suffix -ālis.

A poem describing the life and manners of shepherds; a poem in which the speakers assume the character of shepherds; an idyll; a bucolic.
“Ethel was silent from surprise: she had prepared herself for anger—even sorrow; but ridicule left her without an answer. What could she say to a hearer, who only smiled, and to whom emotion was only a scene in a pastoral?”
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.
A letter of a pastor to his charge; specifically, a letter addressed by a bishop to his diocese.
A letter of the House of Bishops, to be read in each parish.