zeitgeist

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Zeitgeist
    n 1: the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age
         or generation

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Zeitgeist \Zeit"geist`\, n. [G.; zeit time + geist spirit. See
   {Tide}, n.; {Ghost}, n.]
   The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral
   state or temper characteristic of any period of time.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]