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