Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

solstice

sol.stice \'sa:l-st*s, 'so-l-, 'so.l-\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr. L solstitium, fr. 
   sol sun + status, pp. of (Xsistere to come to a stop, cause to stand; akin 
   to L stare to stand - more at SOLAR, STAND 1: one of the two points on the 
   ecliptic at which its distance from the cel estial equator is greatest and 
   which is reached by the sun each year about June 22d and December 22d 2: 
   the time of the sun's passing a solstice which occurs on June 22d to beg in 
   summer in the northern hemisphere and on December 22d to begin winter in 
   the northern hemisphere