The ubiquitous preposition and prefix υπο (hupo) generally means under, beneath or through. It creates a (downward) motion either from something, toward something or through (because of / under cover of) something. As such it's often translatable as 'by'.

Our word is etymologically closely related to the familiar preposition υπερ (huper), over, but came to denote rather an opposite. The curious arc within this verbal Gemini is gracefully demonstrated in Ephesians 1:22: "He put all things in subjection under [hupo] his feet, and gave him as head over [huper] all things to the church."

Our particle mostly generates a genitive form of the word it points toward, but also comes with an accusative. As stand-alone word it occurs 229 times in the New Testament; see full concordance. As prefix our word occurs in an additional colossal array of composite words.

The adjective υπατος (hupatos) is the superlative of υπο (hupo), but strangely enough, assumes the momentum of υπερ (huper). It literally means "most under" or "furthest beneath" but is invariably used to describe "most over" or "furthest above". In the classics, our word is used as epithet of Zeus (comparable to the Hebrew theonym Elyon, or Most High), or to describe the top of a pile, the highest of qualities or the most final of moments.

When the Romans ousted their kings, the highest elected official of the Republic became known by our term υπατος (hupatos). Each year, two consuls were elected and would reign together (in an attempt to prevent tyranny). When the Republic fell and the Empire arose, the emperor outranked everybody, and would appoint consuls and define their duties according to his good humor.

This particular word is not used independently in the New Testament, but from it derive: