ethos

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: e=thos

CIDE DICTIONARY

ethos, n. [L., fr. Gr. character. See Ethic.].

•  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.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  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.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

ethos, n. the characteristic spirit or attitudes of a community, people, or system, or of a literary work etc.

Etymology

mod.L f. Gk ethos nature, disposition

THESAURUS

ethos

Ten Commandments, Weltanschauung, Zeitgeist, acculturation, assumption, attitude, axiology, behavioral norm, body of ideas, body-build, brand, business ethics, cast, character, characteristic, characteristics, civilization, climate, climate of opinion, code, code of ethics, code of morals, common belief, community sentiment, complex, complexion, composition, conceit, concept, conception, conclusion, consensus gentium, consideration, constituents, constitution, crasis, cultural drift, culture, culture area, culture center, culture complex, culture conflict, culture contact, culture pattern, culture trait, decalogue, dharma, diathesis, disposition, estimate, estimation, ethic, ethical system, ethics, eye, feeling, fiber, folkways, frame, general belief, genius, grain, habit, hue, humor, humors, idea, ideology, ilk, impression, intellectual climate, judgment, key trait, kind, legal ethics, lights, makeup, medical ethics, mind, mold, moral climate, moral code, moral principles, morals, mores, mystique, nature, new morality, norm, normative system, norms, notion, observation, opinion, personal judgment, philosophy, physique, point of view, popular belief, position, posture, practices, presumption, prevailing belief, principles, professional ethics, property, public belief, public opinion, quality, reaction, sentiment, sight, social ethics, society, somatotype, sort, spirit, spiritual climate, stamp, stance, standards, streak, stripe, suchness, system, system of ideas, system of theories, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, theory, thinking, thought, tone, trait, trait-complex, type, value system, vein, view, way, way of thinking, world view