# pastoral

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpæs.tə.ɹəl/ · frequency rank #14,182

## Definitions
1. Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other livestock.
2. Relating to rural life and scenes, in particular of poetry.
3. 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.

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

## Easily confused with
- **pectoral** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pastoral-vs-pectoral)
- **postural** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pastoral-vs-postural)
- **pastor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pastor-vs-pastoral)

## Common misspellings (12)
`apstoral`, `pasotral`, `passtoral`, `pastoarl`, `pastorall`, `pastorla`, `pastorral`, `pastroal`, `pasttoral`, `patsoral`, `ppastoral`, `psatoral`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pastoral