bucolic
adjective
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
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
Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Seven minutes from bucolic Molly Maguire Historical Park in Frackville, Pennsylvania is the State Correctional Institution at Mahanoy.
—Dave Zirin, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2025
The film's sweeping cinematography of the bucolic English countryside and the romantic chemistry between Knightley and Matthew McFadyen's Mr. Darcy continue to earn the film adaptation of the 1813 novel of the same name a lasting legacy.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 13 June 2025
The idyllic scene, made even more bucolic with chickens and sheep ambling across the lane, requires every ounce of willpower to pull ourselves out of the ridiculously comfy bed.
—Sarah Wood González, Vogue, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bucolic
Cite this Entry
“Bucolic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bucolic. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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bucolic
adjective
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