zeitgeber

[ tsahyt-gey-ber ]

noun

1. an environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock.

Word History and Origins

Origin of zeitgeber¹

First recorded in 1970–75; from German (1954), literally, “time-giver,” on the model of Taktgeber “electronic synchronization device, timer, metronome”