Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ethos"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ethos \E"thos\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ? character. See {Ethic}.]
1. The character, sentiment, or disposition of a community or
people, considered as a natural endowment; the spirit
which actuates manners and customs; also, the
characteristic tone or genius of an institution or social
organization.
2. ([AE]sthetics) The traits in a work of art which express
the ideal or typic character -- character as influenced by
the ethos (sense 1) of a people -- rather than realistic
or emotional situations or individual character in a
narrow sense; -- opposed to {pathos}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ethos
n : the distinctive spirit of a people or an era; "the Greek
ethos"
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