(a) A place which one normally occupies: a place of business; an official seat, a see; a garrison; also, the men in a garrison; (b) a place in which something is fixed: an anchorage for ships; the soil in which plants are set; the location of an apparently fixed celestial body; (c) astron. the apparent lack of movement of a planet; also, one of the two celestial positions at which the sun's apparent motion away from the equator stops, a solstitial point; louest (somer) ~, the sun's position at the winter (summer) solstice; (d) one of a series of sites used for tableaux vivants during ceremonial progressions; also, a position assigned a minstrel.

(a) Eccl. A Roman church designated as the site of special services held on prescribed days in the liturgical year; a holy place; also, pl. a pilgrimage, under prescribed conditions, to the station churches [2nd quot. ]; staciouns of jerusalem (rome); gon the staciouns, to make a pilgrimage to the stations of Rome or Jerusalem; (b) eccl. a special service held on a prescribed day, esp. one of the special services held at a Roman station church; ~ time, the time prescribed for such a service; maken ~, to perform a special service; (c) with ref. to a pagan site or service: gon ~, to follow the route of the ceremony; maken staciouns, perform prescribed rituals at specified sites.