Pastour

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a shepherd or herdsman who looks after grazing flocks ; a religious minister who leads and cares for a church congregation
2. An old spelling for a keeper of sheep or cattle in the fields ; a churchman who watches over and guides a parish community
3. A herder who tends animals on the pasture ; a spiritual leader who shepherds the faithful of a local church

Etymology: "Pastour" is an obsolete spelling of "pastor," the word for a shepherd or, later, a minister tending a congregation. The spelling came into English in Middle English from Old French "pastor," which was itself taken directly from Latin "pāstor," meaning herdsman or shepherd. That Latin word derives from the verb "pascere," "to feed" or "to pasture," so the core idea is one of feeding and guarding livestock. The shift from animals to people was an old metaphor. Early Christian writers, drawing on the biblical image of Christ as the Good Shepherd, applied the Latin term to the clergy who guided their flocks. The spelling "pastour," with its "-our" ending, follows the Old French pattern in which Latin "-or" nouns often picked up a vowel in English, much like "author" and "pastour" beside "pastor."