Characteristic spirit of European seen with Thomas (5)
I believe the answer is:
ethos
'characteristic spirit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ethos that I've seen before include "Culture, way of life" , "Those with characteristic community belief" , "General feeling" , "Characteristic spirit of a culture or era" , "Distinctive attitudes of a people" .)