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pastor

Etymology and origin of the English word pastor

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1362
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman pastour
Ultimate origin
Latin (pastor)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɑː.stə/ (UK); /ˈpæs.tɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English pastour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pastour, Old French pastur, pastor, herdsman, shepherd,[2][3][4] and directly Latin pāstor (“shepherd”),[2][3] from pastus, past participle of pāscere (“to lead to pasture, feed, graze”) (see pasture),[2][3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pa- (“to feed; tend, guard”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A herdsman or shepherd: 1362 in the OED, before 1376 in Piers Plowman in Barnhart; as a surname from 1242.[6][3]

Semantic evolution

A shepherd of souls, a spiritual guide or minister, is from 1377–87, in Trevisa;[6][3] the spiritual sense was already in Church Latin, as in Gregory's Cura Pastoralis.[2] Merriam-Webster's Word Histories traces it to the biblical image of God as shepherd: the Vulgate renders I am the good shepherd as ego sum pastor bonus.[7] One who guides or protects a group of people is from about 1400.[6] The literal sense, shepherd, is now unusual or archaic.[6][8] The verb, to take care of beasts, is from 1587,[6] and in the Christian sense from 1872.[2] In ornithology the rosy pastor is a pink and black starling of southern Asia.[8][6]

Timeline

  • 1242 – as a surname.[3]
  • 1362 – a shepherd.[6]
  • 1377 – a shepherd of souls.[6]
  • c. 1400 – a protector.[6]
  • 1587 – the verb.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A Christian minister or priest in charge of a congregation.
  2. A person who gives spiritual guidance to a group.
  3. (archaic) A shepherd.

Verb

  1. To serve as pastor of.

Word family

  • pastorship
  • pastorless
  • pastorlike
  • subpastor
  • pastorage
  • pastoral
  • pastorate
  • pasture
  • repast
  • pabulum
  • food

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pastor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pastor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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