Zeitgeist

n. (German) "spirit of the age", spirit of a specific period of history, cultural and intellectual characteristics or mood of a particular era; trend of a specific generation

Zeitgeist (pronounced ) is originally a German expression that means "the spirit of the age", literally translated as "time (Zeit) spirit (Geist)". It describes the intellectual and cultural climate of an era. In German, the word has more layers of meaning than the English translation, including the fact that Zeitgeist can only be observed for past events.
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Noun
1. the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation
(hypernym) spirit, tone, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smell

n. Zeitgeist (German)

the spirit of the age; the general belief permeating society at particular moments in time.