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Definition of pastorale - 2 dictionary results

pas⋅to⋅rale

  [pas-tuh-rahl, -ral, -rah-lee, pah-stuh-; It. pahs-taw-rah-le]
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–noun, plural -rales, -ra⋅li  [-rah-lee, -ral-ee; It. -rah-lee] . Music.
1. an opera, cantata, or the like, with a pastoral subject.
2. a piece of music suggestive of pastoral life.
Origin:
1715–25; < It, n. use of pastorale pastoral
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pas·to·rale   (pās'tə-räl', -rāl', -rä'lē, pä'stə-)   
n.   pl. pas·to·ra·li (-rä'lē) or pas·to·rales

  1. An instrumental or vocal composition with a tender melody in a moderately slow rhythm, suggestive of traditional shepherds' music and idyllic rural life.

  2. A dramatic performance or opera, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, that was based on a rural theme or subject.


[Italian, of herdsmen, pastorale, from Latin pāstōrālis; see pastoral.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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