'Solstice' is Latin for 'sun standing still' — from 'sol' (sun) + 'sistere' (to stand). The pause before reversal.
Either of the two times in the year when the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, resulting in the longest and shortest days; the summer solstice (around June 21) and winter solstice (around December 21).
From Old French 'solstice,' from Latin 'sōlstitium' (the point at which the sun seems to stand still), a compound of 'sōl' (sun) and 'sistere' (to cause to stand, to make stationary), from 'stāre' (to stand). At the solstices, the Sun's apparent northward or southward motion along the horizon reverses direction, and for several days near the turning point, it appears to rise and set at nearly the same position — it seems to 'stand still' before reversing course. This observable phenomenon gave the word its name. Key
German 'Sonnenwende' (solstice) means 'sun-turn,' emphasising the reversal of direction, while Latin 'sōlstitium' means 'sun-standstill,' emphasising the pause. The two languages noticed different aspects of the same phenomenon. Stonehenge is famously aligned with the summer solstice sunrise — a 4,500-year-old monument