solstice

«solstice» in Mova's school dictionary: one of the two days each year when the Sun is at its… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a solstice, solstices)

meaning for a pupil

A solstice is one of the two days each year when the Sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon. The summer solstice has the longest daylight; the winter solstice has the shortest. tree →

sense in the lessons

Science and geography: solstices happen because the Earth's axis is tilted. In the Northern Hemisphere (UK, Ireland, USA, Canada) the summer solstice is around 21 June and the winter solstice around 21 December; in Australia and New Zealand it is the other way round. History: Stonehenge and Newgrange in Ireland line up with the solstice sun. Compare «equinox» (day and night about equal).

examples

• The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. tree →
• People gather at Stonehenge for the solstice sunrise. tree →
• In Australia, the winter solstice is in June. tree →
• At Newgrange, sunlight fills the passage at the winter solstice. tree →
• After the winter solstice, days slowly get longer. tree →
• We measured our shadow on the solstice. tree →
• There are two solstices and two equinoxes each year. tree →

note

Said «SOL-stiss». Countable. Comes from Latin for «sun stands still». Trap: the solstice is not always on the 21st; it can be the 20th to 22nd. Solstice (longest/shortest day) is not the same as equinox (equal day and night).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «solstice» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.