What does fin de siecle mean in English?

Answer 1

End of the century. The term 'fin de siecle' refers specifically to a general cultural and social feeling particularly in Europe around the end of the 1800s that the turn of the century would bring some sort of great change, though whether positive or negative changes with the source. One example is the idea in the work of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called the 'transvaluation of all values', which he believed would begin with the turn of the century.

More loosely, 'fin de siecle' can mean the feeling of forboding or expectation of change caused by any approaching landmark date. For example the Y2K problem as the new millennium approached could be described as a 'fin de siecle' phenomenon.