Pas"tor (?), n. [L., fr. pascere, pastum, to pasture, to feed. Cf.
Pabulum, Pasture, Food.] 1. A shepherd; one who has the care of flocks
and herds.
2. A guardian; a keeper; specifically (Eccl.), a minister having the
charge of a church and parish.
3. (Zoˆl.) A species of starling (Pastor roseus), native of the plains
of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Its head is crested and glossy
greenish black, and its back is rosy. It feeds largely upon locusts.
Pas"tor*age (?), n. The office, jurisdiction, or duty, of a pastor;
pastorate.
Pas"tor*al (?), a. [L. pastoralis: cf. F. pastoral. See Pastor.] 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. Moore
(Encyc. of Music).
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.
||Pas`to*ra"le (?), n. [It.] 1. (Mus.) A composition in a soft, rural
||style, generally in 6-8 or 12-8 time.