zeitgeisthttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zeitgeist_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezeitgeist, n.
Revised 2018

zeitgeistnoun

  1. 1848–
    Frequently (and in early use usually) with capital initial. The defining spirit or mood of a particular period, esp. as reflected in the prevailing ideas, beliefs, and attitudes of the time; the social or cultural trends prevalent at a particular time.
    1. 1848
      I..took up Obermann, and refuged myself with him..against your Zeit Geist.
      M. Arnold, Letter November (1932) 95
    2. 1889
      My business is to incarnate the Zeitgeist.
      G. B. Shaw, Letter August (1965) vol. I. 222
    3. 1946
      May we worship neither the flux of chance, nor the wheel of fortune, nor the spiral of the zeit-geist.
      W. H. Auden, Litany & Anthem for S. Matthew's Day
    4. 1972
      A clear mark of the Zeitgeist of the late 1960's and the 1970's is the increased demand for participation in decision-making by those affected by it.
      Science 2 June 991/3
    5. 2011
      Fukuyama did capture the zeitgeist of the early post-cold war years, and his thinking both shaped and reflected a wider body of ideas.
      N. MacQueen, Humanitarian Intervention & United Nations ii. 44

zeitgeist, n. was revised in June 2018.

zeitgeist, n. was last modified in September 2024.