Dictionary

zeitgeist en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• (UK) audio
• /ˈzaɪtˌɡaɪst/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈtsaɪtˌɡaɪst/ (literary)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from German Zeitgeist (literally “spirit of the age”).

Meanings

1. The spirit of the age; the taste, outlook, and spirit characteristic of a period.
   • She was anchored to that seat by the accumulated indignities of days gone by and the boundless aspirations of generations yet unborn. She was a victim of both the forces of history and the forces of destiny. She had been tracked down by the Zeitgeist—the spirit of the time. 1958, Martin Luther King Jr., “Rosa Parks' Arrest”, in Stride Toward Freedom:
   • The vote also stoked fears that Swiss citizens were reflecting the zeitgeist across Europe, where right-wing populists increasingly are seizing the spotlight with an anti-immigration political agenda. 2014 February 10, Anthony Faiola, “Swiss vote to limit foreign workers captures growing European fears about immigration”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2014:
   • [Robert] Heinlein’s gift was to catch the zeitgeist. “That’s what made him so successful, but it makes his work seem dated.” 2007 December 9, Scott Timberg, quoting Annalee Newitz, “The descent of a sci-fi guru”, in Los Angeles Times:
   • After quickly summarizing the zeitgeisten of the Greek, Elizabethan, and early modern periods and their effects on the theatre, Rice turns to the contemporary world. 1996, Michael Vanden Heuvel, Elmer Rice: A Research and Production Sourcebook, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN:

Forms

Deriveds

zeitgeisty · zeitgeistification

Relateds

sign of the times

Synonyms

spiritus mundi · temper of the times · time-spirit · tenor of the times · time spirit

Translations (66)

ru дух вре́мени (the spirit of the age) · ne युगात्मा (the spirit of the age) · fr zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · be дух ча́су (the spirit of the age) · ar رُوحُ الْعَصْر (the spirit of the age) · ro zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · ro spiritul vremii (the spirit of the age) · mk дух на вре́мето (the spirit of the age) · pt zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · pt espírito do tempo (the spirit of the age) · yi צײַטגײַסט (the spirit of the age) · es ánimo de la época (the spirit of the age) · es espíritu de la época (the spirit of the age) · sh duh vremena (the spirit of the age) · el πνεύμα των καιρών (the spirit of the age) · de Zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · th ไซท์ไกสท์ (the spirit of the age) · sq zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · pl duch czasu (the spirit of the age) · sh ца̏јтгајст (the spirit of the age) · hu korszellem (the spirit of the age) · nn tidsånd (the spirit of the age) · it spirito del tempo (the spirit of the age) · da zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · bg дух на вре́мето (the spirit of the age) · fa-ira روحِ زَمانِه (the spirit of the age) · kk заман рухы (the spirit of the age) · ja 時代精神 (the spirit of the age) · lb Zäitgeescht (the spirit of the age) · et ajavaim (the spirit of the age) · pl zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · uk цайтґа́йст (the spirit of the age) · ro spiritul epocii (the spirit of the age) · he צַיִיטְגַיִיסְט (the spirit of the age) · sq fryma e epokës (the spirit of the age) · fr air du temps (the spirit of the age) · sk duch času (the spirit of the age) · uk дух ча́су (the spirit of the age) · cs duch doby (the spirit of the age) · ru цайтга́йст (the spirit of the age) · it zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) · da tidsånd (the spirit of the age) · ko 시대정신 (the spirit of the age) · sh cȁjtgajst (the spirit of the age) · sv tidsanda (the spirit of the age) · nl tijdgeest (the spirit of the age) · eo spirito de la tempo (the spirit of the age) · el τσάιτγκαϊστ (the spirit of the age) · fr esprit du temps (the spirit of the age) · bg ца́йтгайст (the spirit of the age) · sh дух времена (the spirit of the age) · mr युगात्मा (the spirit of the age) · cs duch času (the spirit of the age) · hy ժամանակի ոգի (the spirit of the age) · ur رُوحِ دَورَاں (the spirit of the age) · nb tidsånd (the spirit of the age) · be цайтга́йст (the spirit of the age) · fo tíðarandi (the spirit of the age) · sa युगात्मा (the spirit of the age) · ur رُوحِ دَورَان (the spirit of the age) · la spīritus mundī (the spirit of the age) · hi युगात्मा (the spirit of the age) · fi ajan henki (the spirit of the age) · cmn 時代精神 /时代精神 (the spirit of the age) · is tíðarandi (the spirit of the age) · fa-ira روحِ دُوران (the spirit of the age)