Thursday Etymology Lesson: zeitgeist

Today’s word is made up of two German words zeit meaning, “time” and geist, meaning, “spirit.”  Our English word ghost also comes from geist which came from a Proto Indo European root gheis which meant, “to be amazed, excited or frightened.”  The word zeitgeist literally means, “time-spirit.” 

The word asks us to question whether we can surpass the spirit of our own time, or if we are helpless against it, as is it not true that being born in the time we are in, the spirt of our time is our own spirit, and thus inescapable?