solstice English · revision 817
10 Oct 2026, 23:53 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary, Hoad, MED, Word Origins)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈsɒl.stɪs/, /ˈsəʊl.stɪs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsɑl.stɪs/, /ˈsoʊl.stɪs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|solstice]],^(AHD)^(MED) [[bor|fro|solstice]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|la|sōlstitium|t=point at which the sun seems to stand still]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from ''sōl'' “sun” and ''-stitium'' “a stopping”, related to ''sistere'' “to stand still, cause to stand”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Either of the two times in the year, midway between the equinoxes, when the sun reaches its farthest point from the equator (c. 1250).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MED)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ At those times the sun seems to stand still in its north–south motion before turning back, hence the name.^(Etymonline) In late Old English the idea was rendered by the native ''sunstede''.^(Etymonline) Latin ''sōlstitium'' often meant especially the summer solstice, and English ''solstice'' was also used of the heat of midsummer (1643).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From 1601 it named the solstitial point on the ecliptic,^(OED 1989) and from the early 17th century it was used figuratively of a turning point, culmination or furthest limit.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1250 – the summer or winter solstice.^(OED 1989)^(MED)
+ * 1391 – Chaucer's ''solsticium of somer''.^(MED)
+ * 1601 – a solstitial point.^(OED 1989)
+ * before 1631 – figuratively, a culmination or turning point.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the [[celestial equator]], about 21 June and 21 December, marking the longest and shortest days.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Either of the two points on the [[ecliptic]] farthest from the celestial equator.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A furthest or culminating point; a turning point.^(AHD)^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[solstitial]]
+ * [[summer solstice]]
+ * [[winter solstice]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[equinox]]
+ * [[solar]]
+ * [[armistice]]
+ * [[stand]]
+ * [[state]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}