Solstice

Solstice (Lat. solstitium, from sol, 'sun,' and sto, 'I stand'), that point in the ecliptic at which the sun is farthest removed from the equator, and where it is consequently at the turning-point of its apparent course. There are two such points in the ecliptic, one where it touches the tropic of Cancer, the other where it touches that of Capricorn. The former is the summer, and the latter is the winter solstice to those who inhabit northern latitudes, and vice versa.—The term is also employed to signify the time at which the sun attains these two points in its orbit, the 21st of June and about the 21st December.