Meanings
nounsolstice (plural solstices)
plural solstices
- One of the two points in the ecliptic at which the sun is furthest from the celestial equator. This corresponds to one of two days in the year when the day is either longest or shortest.
The point at which the sun is nearest to the south pole we call the winter solstice, and the opposite point, the summer solstice.
2010, Capt Sp Meek, The Solar MagnetSynonyms: sunstead
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOne of the two points in the ecliptic at which the sun is furthest from the celestial equator. This corresponds to one of two days in the year when the day is either longest or shortest.
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Opposite
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*sóh₂wl̥
- Latinsōl
- Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*stísteh₂ti
- Proto-Italic*sistō
- Latinsistō
- Latinsōlstitium
- Old Frenchsolstice
- Middle Englishsolstice
- Englishsolstice
From Middle English solstice, from Old French solstice, from Latin sōlstitium.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic اِنْقِلَاب شَمْسِيّ
- اِنْقِلَاب شَمْسِيّ (inqilāb šamsiyy)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Bulgarian слънцестое́не
- слънцестое́не (slăncestoéne)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Catalan solstici
- solsticipoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Chinese Mandarin 至日, 至點 /至点
- 至日 (zhìrì)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 至點 /至点 (zhìdiǎn)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 冬至 (dōngzhì)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 夏至 (xiàzhì)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Czech slunovrat
- slunovratpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Danish solhverv
- solhvervpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Dutch zonnewende, zonnestilstand
- zonnewendepoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- zonnestilstandpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Esperanto solstico
- solsticopoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Estonian pööripäev
- pööripäevpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Finnish päivänseisaus
- päivänseisauspoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
French solstice
- solsticepoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
German Sonnenwende
- Sonnenwendepoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Greek ηλιοστάσιο
- ηλιοστάσιο (iliostásio)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Hindi अयनांत
- अयनांत (aynānt)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Hungarian napforduló
- napfordulópoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Icelandic sólstöður, sólhvörf
- sólstöðurpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- sólhvörfpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Irish grianstad
- grianstadpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Italian solstizio
- solstiziopoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Japanese 冬至, 夏至
- 冬至 (tōji)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 夏至 (geshi)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Korean 지점, 동지
- 지점 (jijeom)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 동지 (dongji)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- 하지 (haji)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Latin solstitium, brūma
- solstitiumpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- brūmapoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Latvian saulgrieži
- saulgriežipoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Lithuanian saulėgrįža
- saulėgrįžapoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Malay solstis
- solstispoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Māori takanga o te rā, hikumutu
- takanga o te rāpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- hikumutupoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- Ihu o Takuruapoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- Ihu o Hineraumatipoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- te tuakaihautanga o Tamanuiterāpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Norwegian Bokmål solverv
- solvervpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Persian گشتن, انقلاب
- گشتن (gaštan)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- انقلاب (enqelâb)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Polish przesilenie
- przesileniepoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Portuguese solstício
- solstíciopoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Romanian solstițiu, solstițiul verii
- solstițiupoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- solstițiul veriipoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- solstițiul ierniipoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Russian солнцестоя́ние
- солнцестоя́ние (solncestojánije)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Slovak slnovrat
- slnovratpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Spanish solsticio
- solsticiopoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Swedish sommarsolstånd, vintersolstånd
- sommarsolståndpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- vintersolståndpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
- solståndpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Tagalog solstisyo
- solstisyopoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Thai มายัน
- มายัน (mayan)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Turkish gündönümü
- gündönümüpoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Ukrainian сонцестоя́ння
- сонцестоя́ння (soncestojánnja)point where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Vietnamese điểm chí
- điểm chípoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Welsh heuldro
- heuldropoint where the earth stands at the extreme of its ellipsis around the sun
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
solstice. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/solstice
MLA
“solstice.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/solstice. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “solstice,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/solstice.
Source: solstice on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.