Linguistically: It is the plural of meeqat, which is the appointed time for the performance of an act and its location. It was then used by extension for places where such acts are performed, from which the meaning of the mawaqeet of Hajj as the places of ihram was derived. One says: “This is the meeqat of the people of the Levant” when referring to the place from which they enter into ihram.
Technically: They are the times of rites and the places from which ihram is entered into.