ὑπόστασις
hypostasis
standing under, supporting
Appears 18 times across Aristotle's works.
Frequency by work
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Dictionary (LSJ)
ὑπόστασις, εως, ἡ, (ὑφίστημι, ὑφίσταμαι): A. as an act, standing under, supporting, ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ μηροῦ καὶ ὁ αὐχὴν τοῦ ἄρθρου . . ὑπὸ συχνῷ μέρει τοῦ ἰσχίου τὴν ὑ. πεποίηται Art. 55; [τοὺς προσθίους πόδας] ἔχουσιν . . οὐ μόνον ἕνεχʼ ὑποστάσεως τοῦ βάρους PA 659a24; ἐνεπάγην εἰς ἰλὺν βυθοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑ. Ps. 68(69).3. 2. resistance, τοῦ κύματος Mete. 368b12 (unless = settling down); so perh. in Off. 3, Fr. 59. 3. lying in ambush, Fr. 719. B. as a thing, I. in liquids, that which settles at the bottom, sediment, Steril. 242, HA 551b29, Mete. 382b14, HP 9.8.3; esp. of sediment in the urine, Coac. 146,389, Aph. 4.69, al., 6.252, al.; but the urine itself is called ἡ ὑ. ἡ εἰς τὴν κύστιν, Mete. 358a8; ἡ τῆς ὑγρᾶς τροφῆς ὑ. PA 647b28; ἐκ τῶν νεφρῶν ἡ γιγνομένη ὑ. ib.671b20; also of the dry excrement, ἡ τῆς ξηρᾶς τροφῆς ὑ. ib.647b28, cf. 677a15, Mete. 358b9. b. an accumulation of pus, abscess, Art. 40. 2. νέφους ὑποστάσεις cloud-cumuli, 1.38. 3. a kind of jelly or thick soup, in pl., 462.10 (cf. 6.60), 4.8.1. 4. metaph. of time, duration, ἡ στιγμιαία τῶν καιρῶν ὑ. 19.187; μνήσθητι τίς μου ἡ ὑ. remember how short my time is, Ps. 88(89).48; ἡ ὑ. μου ὡσεὶ οὐθὲν ἐνώπιόν σου mine age is as nothing before thee, ib.38(39).6; ἐφʼ ὅσον αὐτοῦ (sc. Ἕκτορος) ἡ ὑ. τῶν χρόνων ὑπῆρχεν as long as his store of years lasted, 347.14. 5. coming into existence, origin, ἡ ὑ. μου ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτω τῆς γῆς Ps. 138(139).15; περὶ τοῦ γένους . . τῶν Ἰουδαίων . . ὅτι . . τὴν πρώτην ὑ. ἔσχεν ἰδίαν Ap. 1.1; ἀκμὴ οὐδὲ ἔχει γενέσεως ὑ. καθʼ ἑαυτήν has no power of originating by itself, Id. 1.10. II. foundation or substructure of a temple, etc., Na. 2.7, 1.66, 13.82; ὑποστάσεις ἐπάλξεων lower part of a crenellated wall, Bel. 84.9; ὑ. ξύλου is f.l. for ὑπότασις ξ. in Mochl. 25. 2. metaph. of a narrative, speech, or poem, ground-work, subject-matter, argument, 4.2.1, 1.3, etc. 3. plan, purpose, 16.32; κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ὑ. 1.28, 15.70; πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ὑ. 1.3; οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι . . ἰδίᾳ τινὶ ὑ. κεχρημένοι εἰσί (sc. in their calendar) 8.16, cf. 25; κατὰ τὴν Καίσαρος ὑ. BMus.Inscr. 892.21 (Halic., i B. C./i A. D.). 4. confidence, courage, resolution, steadiness, of soldiers, 4.50.10,6.55.2; hope, ἔστι μοι ὑ. τοῦ γενηθῆναί με ἀνδρί Ru. 1.12; ἀπώλετο ἡ ὑ. αὐτῆς ib.Ez. 19.5, cf. Ep.Hebr. 3.14; ἡ ὑ. τῆς καυχήσεως 2 Ep.Cor. 11.17, cf. 9.4; ἔστιν δὲ πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις confidence in things hoped for, Ep.Hebr. 11.1 (unless substance be the right sense here). 5. undertaking, promise, οἱ ὑπογεγραμμένοι γεωργοὶ ἐπέδωκαν ἡμῖν ὑπόστασιν PEleph. 15.3 (iii B. C.), cf. PTheb.Bank 1.8 (ii B. C.), PTeb. 61 (b).194 (ii B. C.). 6. Astrol., τὰ τούτου (sc. κλήρου τύχης) τετράγωνα ὑπόστασις (fort. -στάσεις) [λέγεται] in Cat.Cod.Astr. 8(4).227. III. substantial nature, substance, δύσσχιστα, τῷ κολλώδη τὴν ὑ. ἔχειν woods hard to cleave, because of their resinous substance, CP 5.16.4; ἡ τοῦ γεώδους ὑ. ib.6.7.4. 2. substance, actual existence, reality (οἱ νεώτεροι τῶν φιλοσόφων ἀντὶ τῆς οὐσίας τῇ λέξει τῆς ὑ. ἐχρήσαντο HE 3.7), opp. semblance, φαντασίαν μὲν ἔχειν πλούτου, ὑ. δὲ μή 3.14; τῶν ἐν ἀέρι φαντασμάτων τὰ μέν ἐστι κατʼ ἔμφασιν, τὰ δὲ καθʼ ὑπόστασιν (substantial, actual), Mu. 395a30, cf. Placit. 3.6, 7.135, 9.91; so ὑποστάσεις are the substances of which the reflections (αἱ κατοπτρικαὶ ἐμφάσεις) appear in the mirror, Placit. 4.14.2; ὑ. ἔχειν have substantial existence, Herc. 1055.14, P. 2.94, 176, 9.42; ἰδίᾳ χρησάμενον ὑποστάσει (ὑποτάσει cod.), πρὸς ἰδίαν ὑ. φυτευθέντα, a separate existence, 1.96, cf. 33; ὑπόστασιν μὴ ἔχειν 2.57; ὑποστάσεις τε καὶ μεταβολαί 9.1, cf. 10.5; [ἡ παρασιτικὴ] διαφέρει καὶ τῆς ῥητορικῆς καὶ τῆς φιλοσοφίας . . κατὰ τὴν ὑ. (in respect of reality) · ἡ μὲν γὰρ ὑφέστηκεν, αἱ δὲ οὔ Par. 27; κατʼ ἰδίαν ὑ. καὶ οὐσίαν M. 9.338. 3. real nature, essence, χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑ. Ep.Hebr. 1.3. IV. as a Rhet. figure, the full expression or expansion of an idea, Id. 1.11, Rh. 1p.479S., in Hermog. 1.60 R. V. = ὑπόστημα III, camp, 1 Ki. 13.23, 14.4. VI. wealth, substance, property, ib.De. 11.6, Je. 10.17, POxy. 1274.15 (iii A. D.), BGU 1020.16 (vi A. D.), etc. 2. pl., title deeds, documents recording ownership of property, 237 viii 26 (ii A. D.).
Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)
Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of
ὑπόστασις — with the passages
he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated,
interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide.
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