hīˈpästəsə̇s noun
( plural hyposta·ses -əˌsēz)
Etymology: Late Latin, substance, sediment, from Greek, support, sediment, foundation, substance, from hyphistasthai to support, stand under, from hypo- + histasthai to stand, middle of histanai to cause to stand — more at stand
1.
a. : something that settles at the bottom of a fluid : sediment , deposit
b. : the settling of blood in the dependent parts of an organ or body
2.
a. in the original Nicene use : the essence or substance of the triune Godhead — called also ousia
b. in later use
(1) : one of the persons of the Godhead or Trinity
(2) : the individual as subject or substance
c. : the whole personality of Christ as distinguished from his human and divine natures
3. obsolete : basis of support : foundation
4. philosophy
a. Plotinism : any of the three aspects or essential principles constituting the Godhead:
(1) : the transcendent one
(2) : nous , spirit
(3) : logos , world soul
b. Thomism : the substance or rational nature of an individual or person ; also : person , individual
c. : substance as an ontological entity or category : a self-subsistent reality or mode of being
d. : a hypothetical or conceptual entity : a reified abstraction : hypostatization
as far as the Buddhist hypostasis of the law is concerned, we should search in vain for a Christian equivalent — Joachim Wach
for legal purposes a right is only the hypostasis of a prophecy — Alfred Lief
5.
[New Latin, from Late Latin]
: failure of a gene to produce its usual effect when coupled with another gene that is epistatic toward it
6.
[New Latin, from Late Latin]
: hypostase
7.
a. : the mention of a word, grammatical form, or word group (as in, un-, in the dark ) as a linguistic element
b. : a linguistic element so referred to — called also citation form, quotation noun