hypostasis Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the suppression of a gene by the effect of an unrelated gene
    epistasis.
  2. noun the accumulation of blood in an organ
  3. noun any of the three persons of the Godhead constituting the Trinity especially the person of Christ in which divine and human natures are united
    hypostasis of Christ.
  4. noun (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality

WordNet

Hy*pos"ta*sis noun
Etymology
L., fr. Gr. subsistence, substance, fr. to stand under; under + to stand, middle voice of to cause to stand. See Hypo-, and Stand.
Wordforms
plural Hypostases
Definitions
  1. That which forms the basis of anything; underlying principle; a concept or mental entity conceived or treated as an existing being or thing.
  2. (Theol.) Substance; subsistence; essence; person; personality; -- used by the early theologians to denote any one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. ✍ The Council of Alexandria (a.d. 362) defined hypostasis as synonymous with person. Schaff-Herzog.
  3. Principle; an element; -- used by the alchemists in speaking of salt, sulphur, and mercury, which they considered as the three principles of all material bodies.
  4. (Med.) That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid; sediment.

Webster 1913