Zeit·geist also zeit·geist 
(tsītgīst′, zīt-)
(tsītgīst′, zīt-)n.
The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation: "A new cult of technological optimism has deeply embedded itself in the zeitgeist" (Sebastian Seung).
[German : Zeit, time (from Middle High German zīt, from Old High German; see dā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + Geist, spirit; see POLTERGEIST.]