maxim

¹

[ mak-sim ]

noun

1. an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one:

   the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.

   Synonyms: apothegm, adage, saying, aphorism

2. a principle or rule of conduct.

Maxim

²

[ mak-sim; French mak-seem, Russian muh-ksyeem ]

noun

1. Hiram Percy, 1869–1936, U.S. inventor.
2. his father Sir Hiram Stevens, 1840–1916, English inventor, born in the U.S.: inventor of the Maxim gun.
3. Hudson, 1853–1927, U.S. inventor and explosives expert (brother of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim).
4. a male given name, form of Maximilian.

Maxim

¹

/ ˈmæksɪm /

noun

1. MaximSir Hiram Stevens18401916MBritishUSTECHNOLOGY: inventor Sir Hiram Stevens. 1840–1916, British inventor of the first automatic machine gun (1884), born in the US

maxim

²

/ ˈmæksɪm /

noun

1. a brief expression of a general truth, principle, or rule of conduct

Word History and Origins

Origin of maxim¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English maxime ultimately from Medieval Latin maxima (originally in the phrase maxima prōpositiō “axiom,” literally, “greatest proposition”), noun use of feminine of Latin maximus, superlative of magnus “great”; much

Word History and Origins

Origin of maxim¹

C15: via French from Medieval Latin, from maxima, in the phrase maxima prōpositio basic axiom (literally: greatest proposition); see maximum

Synonym Study

See proverb.

Example Sentences

As the Latin maxim puts it: De gustibus non est disputandum.

From The Daily Beast

He should have stuck to his own maxim: march separately and fight together.

From The Daily Beast

Her book, for example, does not discuss her buzzed-about, scantily clad Maxim photo shoot from last year, and so neither do we.

From The Daily Beast

And now one of the nastiest men in Russia, Maxim Martsinkevich, has been sentenced to five years in prison.

From The Daily Beast

The maxim proved true: Necessity is the mother of invention.

From The Daily Beast

I, therefore, deliver it as a maxim, that whoever desires the character of a proud man ought to conceal his vanity.

From Project Gutenberg

And the maxim of laissez faire became the last word of social wisdom.

From Project Gutenberg

"It's dogged as does it," is not only the maxim of agricultural labourers in remote country districts.

From Project Gutenberg

From the earliest days great commanders have rubbed in the maxim, "If you attack, attack with all your force."

From Project Gutenberg

They have a living faith in the potency of the Horse-Guards, and in the maxim that "Safe bind is sure find."

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adage
• aphorism
• axiom
• dictum
• motto
• proverb
• theorem