Category:Hypostasis

Hy*pos"ta*sis, n.; pl. Hypostases. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. 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.)

Defn: 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.

Note: 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.)

Defn: That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid; sediment.