Hy*pos"ta*sis (?), n.; pl.
Hypostases (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; subsistence,
substance, fr. &?; to stand under; &?; under + &?; to stand, middle
voice of &?; to cause to stand. See Hypo-, and Stand.]
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.
&fist; 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.
