Eclog

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A poetic genre focusing on rural life and interactions between shepherds, often showcasing nature's beauty and simplicity with lyrical dialogues
2. A literary style that expresses pastoral themes through conversations among shepherds, encapsulating the charm of agrarian existence
3. A form of poetry that highlights rural settings and the lives of shepherds, often presenting nature in a lyrical and harmonious manner

Etymology: "Eclog" is an alternative spelling of "eclogue," and the spelling without the final "-ue" is the older form in English, reaching Middle English before the later spelling took over. The word comes from Latin "ecloga," which was borrowed from Ancient Greek "eklogē," meaning "selection" or "choice." The Greek sense is the key to the whole history: a collection of selected pieces was an "eklogē," and the Latin word took on the meaning of a short poem chosen and gathered for its quality. The poetic sense grew from that Latin usage. Roman writers applied "ecloga" to short pastoral poems, and the most famous collection of them, Virgil's set of ten, gave the form its lasting association with shepherds speaking in idealised countryside settings. English poets later followed Virgil's model, which is why a word meaning simply "selection" now names a poem about herdsmen and the green world.

Synonyms: extract, excerpt, selection, passage, quotation