Spirit of a people (5)
I believe the answer is:
ethos
'spirit of a people' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for ethos that I've seen before include "Distinctive attitudes of a people" , "Characteristic spirit of a culture or era" , "Characteristic culture of a culture or time" , "Spirit (of an age/culture)" , "Moral significance" .)