hypostasis

noun, plural hy·pos·ta·ses

[-seez] .

Metaphysics.

something that stands under and supports; foundation.

the underlying or essential part of anything as distinguished from attributes; substance, essence, or essential principle.

Theology.

one of the three real and distinct substances in the one undivided substance or essence of God.

a person of the Trinity.

the one personality of Christ in which His two natures, human and divine, are united.

Medicine/Medical.

the accumulation of blood or its solid components in parts of an organ or body due to poor circulation.

such sedimentation, as in a test tube.

Origin:
1580–90; < Late Latin < Greek hypóstasis that which settles at the bottom; substance, nature, essence, equivalent to hypo- hypo- + stásis standing, stasis

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

hypostasis (haɪˈpɒstəsɪs)

—n , pl -ses
1.	metaphysics the essential nature of a substance as opposed to its attributes
2.	Christianity
	a. any of the three persons of the Godhead, together constituting the Trinity
	b. the one person of Christ in which the divine and human natures are united
3.	the accumulation of blood in an organ or part, under the influence of gravity as the result of poor circulation
4.	another name for epistasis

[C16: from Late Latin: substance, from Greek hupostasis foundation, from huphistasthai to stand under, from hypo- + histanai to cause to stand]

hypostatic

—*adj*

hypo'statical

—*adj*

hypo'statically

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10

Hypostasis is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

hypostasis hy·pos·ta·sis (hī-pŏs'tə-sĭs)
n. pl. hy·pos·ta·ses (-sēz')

A settling of solid particles in a fluid.
Sediment.
See hypostatic congestion.
A condition in which the action of one gene conceals or suppresses the action of another gene that is not its allele but that affects the same part or biochemical process in an organism.

hy'po·stat'ic (hī'pə-stāt'ĭk) adj.

Matching Quote

"The conflict between science and religion is in reality a misunderstanding of both. Scientific materialism has merely introduced a new hypostasis, and that is an intellectual sin. It has given another name to the supreme principle of reality and has assumed that this created a new thing and destroyed an old thing. Whether you call the principle of existence "God," "matter," "energy," or anything else you like, you have created nothing; you have merely changed a symbol. The materialist is a metaphysician malgré lui. Faith, on the other hand, tries to retain a primitive mental condition on merely sentimental grounds. It is unwilling to give up the primitive, childlike relationship to mind-created and hypostatized figures; it wants to go on enjoying the security and confidence of a world still presided over by powerful, responsible, and kindly parents."

-Carl Jung

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Related Words

hypo- hypostatic

hypostatic

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