"weltanschauung," "weltschmerz," "ZEITGEIST," Part 2

       What do these words mean?

       "Zeitgeist," (pronounced with long "i" in both syllables and a hard "g") translates to "timeghost," loosely, the spirit of the time:  "the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era" (Merriam-Webster).

       English "ghost" and German "geist" are kin as you can tell.  Interesting that zeit and "time" also share the same root with one another, as does "tide" (AHD).  And as we know, "Zeit and tide wait for no man."

       So we ask, "What's the Zeitgeist?"  What are the guiding themes, the informing spirit of the age?