Hypostasis

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hypostasis \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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The Council of Alexandria (a. d. 362) defined
           hypostasis as synonymous with person. --Schaff-Herzog.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Med.) That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid;
        sediment.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hypostasis
       n 1: the suppression of a gene by the effect of an unrelated gene
            [syn: {epistasis}]
       2: the accumulation of blood in an organ
       3: any of the three persons of the Godhead constituting the
          Trinity especially the person of Christ in which divine
          and human natures are united
       4: (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality
       [also: {hypostases} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  72 Moby Thesaurus words for "hypostasis":
     abstract noun, adherent noun, air, atom, atomic particles, axiom,
     brute matter, building block, center, chemical element,
     collective noun, common noun, component, constituent, core, earth,
     element, elementary particle, elementary unit, elixir, essence,
     essential, fire, flower, focus, fundamental, fundamental particle,
     gerund, gist, gravamen, heart, hyle, inner essence, kernel, marrow,
     material, material world, materiality, matter, meat, molecule,
     monad, natural world, nature, nominal, noun, noun phrase, nub,
     nucleus, nuts and bolts, physical world, pith, plenum, postulate,
     principle, pronoun, proper noun, quid, quiddity, quintessence,
     quotation noun, sap, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, substantive,
     substratum, the four elements, the nitty-gritty, unit of being,
     water