Where does “pastoral” come from?

Pastoral comes from Old French pastoral, derived from Latin pastoralis, an adjective formed from Latin pasco meaning "to feed" and the suffix -alis, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European peh₂-.

pastoral (English): Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other...

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to shepherds or herders of other...

Ancestry of “pastoral”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpastoral—
2Latinpastoralisshepherd; pastoral
3LatinpāstorA person who tends sheep; shepherd
4Latinpāscōto feed, nourish, maintain, support
5Proto-Italicpāskōto feed; to pasture
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₂-to protect; to shepherd

Words derived from “pastoral”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₂- →Every word from Proto-Italic pāskō →Every word from Latin pāscō →