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geist

Geist is a German noun meaning spirit, ghost, mind, or intellect. The word can describe nonphysical entities such as ghosts, the mental faculties of a person, or the broader sense of a life force. Etymology traces to Old High German geist, from Proto-Germanic *gaistaz, related to terms for breath or life force in Germanic languages.

Philosophically, Geist is a central term in German idealism and later thought, used to denote mind or

Religiously, the Holy Spirit is rendered Heiliger Geist in German, and phrases such as Geist Gottes are

In common usage, Geist can also mean a ghost or specter in folklore and literature, or a

Geist appears in modern English-language discourse chiefly through loan translations and proper names, notably Zeitgeist, used

spirit
as
a
dynamic,
self-developing
force
that
mediates
between
individuals
and
history.
In
this
usage,
phenomena
of
culture,
society,
and
history
are
expressions
of
an
overarching
Geist,
as
in
Weltgeist
or
der
absolute
Geist
in
the
writings
of
Hegel.
common
in
Christian
theology
in
German-language
contexts.
nonmaterial
atmosphere
or
"spirit"
of
a
situation—hence
compounds
like
Zeitgeist,
meaning
the
spirit
of
the
time.
to
describe
the
cultural,
intellectual,
and
political
climate
of
an
era.