ὑπόστασις

Forms

ὑπόστασις (hupóstasis) f (genitive ὑπόστασεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of action from Ancient Greek ὑφίστημι (huphístēmi) + -σις (-sis),^[1][2] the verb being ὑπό (hupó, “under”) with ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to make stand”), so that the literal sense is “a standing under”.^[3][4] It is formed like στάσις (stásis) beside the simple verb.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Hippocratic writings of the 5th century BC,^[5][3] where it means the support that a bone gives a joint, a sediment that settles in urine, and an accumulation of pus.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The physical senses of the word grew from its two meanings, “standing under” and “settling down”: Aristotle uses it of what holds up a weight and of the sediment in liquids, Diodorus of piled-up clouds and of the foundations of a temple, and Menander of a thick soup.^[2][4]

From the idea of a foundation came figurative uses in Hellenistic prose: Polybius calls the groundwork of a narrative its ὑπόστασις, and also uses the word for the steadiness and resolve of soldiers; in papyri it is a written undertaking.^[2][4] Theophrastus already speaks of the substance of wood, and later writers oppose the reality of a thing to its appearance.^[2] In the Septuagint it renders “hope” and a person's span of life, and the New Testament uses it for confidence and assurance, while the Epistle to the Hebrews calls the Son the imprint of the Father's being.^[6][7] Its usual equivalent was Latin substantia.^[6] Church writers took the word for each “person” of the Trinity, which led to long disputes over its relation to οὐσία (ousíā).^[8][9]

Modern Greek uses it as a learned word, υπόσταση (ypóstasi), for existence, the theological “hypostasis” and the basis or grounds of a claim.^[9][3] English hypostasis comes from it.^[8]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writings use it for the support of a joint, for sediment in urine and for an abscess.^[2][5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for support, resistance and the sediment in liquids.^[2]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the groundwork of a narrative and for the steadfastness of troops.^[2][4]
• 2nd century BC – The Septuagint uses it for hope and for the span of a life.^[2][6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for confidence and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, for the being of God.^[7][6]
• Modern Greek – The learned word υπόσταση (ypóstasi) means existence and also a hypostasis of the Trinity.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A support, the act of standing under something and holding it up.^[2]
2. Resistance, as of something standing firm.^[2]
3. Sediment settling at the bottom of a liquid, especially in urine; an abscess.^[2]
4. A thick soup or jelly.^[2][4]
5. A foundation or substructure of a building.^[2]
6. The groundwork or subject matter of a narrative or speech; a plan or purpose.^[2][4]
7. Steadfastness, courage or resolve, (Septuagint, New Testament) hope, confidence.^[2][4][7]
8. (papyri) A written undertaking or promise.^[2]
9. The substance or real nature of a thing; actual existence, reality.^[2][7]
10. (Christian) A person of the Trinity.^[8][9]

Related words

• στάσις (stásis)
• Latin substantia
• English hypostasis

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b c d Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki