Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun German.
- the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time.
noun
- the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period, esp as it is reflected in literature, philosophy, etc
1848, from German Zeitgeist, literally “spirit of the age,” from Zeit “time” (see tide) + Geist “spirit” (see ghost).
The general moral, intellectual, and cultural climate of an era; Zeitgeist is German for “time-spirit.” For example, the Zeitgeist of England in the Victorian period included a belief in industrial progress, and the Zeitgeist of the 1980s in the United States was a belief in the power of money and the many ways in which to spend it.