Meanings
nounzeitgeber (plural zeitgebers or zeitgeber)
plural zeitgebers
- medicineA rhythmically occurring cue given by the environment, such as a change in light or temperature, to reset the internal body clock.First known use 20th c.
Thus, while light is the most reliable and thus the primary zeitgeber, there are many factors that can be used in addition to, or in the absence of, daylight.
2017, Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep, Penguin, published 2018, page 18
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*deh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*deh₂y-
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₂itis
- Proto-Indo-European*dih₂tís
- Proto-Germanic*tīdiz
- Proto-West Germanic*tīdi
- Old High Germanzīt
- Middle High Germanzīt
- GermanZeit
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰebʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*gebaną
- Proto-West Germanic*geban
- Old High Germangëban
- Middle High Germangëben
- Germangeben
- GermanGeber
- GermanZeitgeber
- Englishzeitgeber
Borrowed from German Zeitgeber.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
zeitgeber. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeitgeber
MLA
“zeitgeber.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeitgeber. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “zeitgeber,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/zeitgeber.
Source: zeitgeber on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.