bucolic

adjective

bu·col·ic byü-ˈkä-lik

Synonyms of bucolic

: of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen : pastoral

: relating to or typical of rural life

: idyllic

bucolically

byü-ˈkä-li-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Did you know?

The Origin of Bucolic Is "Utterly" Quaint

We get bucolic from the Latin word bucolicus, which is ultimately from the Greek word boukolos, meaning "cowherd." When bucolic was first used in English as an adjective in the early 17th century, it meant "pastoral" in a narrow sense—that is, it referred to things related to shepherds or herdsmen and in particular to pastoral poetry. Later in the 19th century, it was applied more broadly to things rural or rustic. Bucolic has also been occasionally used as a noun meaning "a pastoral poem" or "a bucolic person."

Examples of bucolic in a Sentence

Pine Ridge … . Its generic blandness and vaguely bucolic quality anticipated similar names—the Oak Parks and River Groves and Lake Forests and Chestnut Hills … —Ian Frazier, On the Rez, 2000

… the massive population growth has transformed a collection of bucolic villages and mill towns into a chain of strip-mall suburbs. —Jonathan Cohn, New Republic, 7 Feb. 2000

… Intel gives its generations of microprocessors such bucolic code names as Deschutes, Tillamook, and Katmai but then rolls them out with names that rival those of popes and medieval heads of state: Pentium the III, Celeron the Meek, and Xeon the Magnificent. —Jake Kirchner, PC Magazine, 25 May 1999

… the North Shore commuter train scuds through bucolic landscape for a while, the rocks and trees permitting glimpses of Appleton Farms … —John Updike, New England Monthly, October 1989

a bucolic region where farms are still common

Recent Examples on the Web

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He is also formed by his studies at Catholic Theological Union, a seminary for priests from religious communities conceived in a new mode after Vatican II; one that did not isolate seminarians from the realities of the world in some far-off bucolic location. —Mark R. Francis, Time, 10 May 2025 As for the bucolic scenes: for all their technical prowess, those were actually rooted in the digital Stone Age. —Vogue, 6 May 2025 The latter sits on 9-hectare farm land that holds both his family holiday home and the Spanish restaurant, a building that boasts sculptural lines, organic shapes and cleverly placed windows that frame the bucolic view. —Kissa Castaneda, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025 Good things take time, and that’s especially true of the landscape design of our 2025 Idea House in Keswick, Virginia, a bucolic community just a short drive from Charlottesville. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bucolic

Word History

Etymology

Latin bucolicus, from Greek boukolikos, from boukolos cowherd, from bous head of cattle + -kolos (akin to Latin colere to cultivate) — more at cow, wheel

First Known Use

circa 1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of bucolic was circa 1609

See more words from the same year