maxim

[mak-sim]

See more synonyms for maxim on Thesaurus.com

noun

an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one: the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.
a principle or rule of conduct.

Origin of maxim

1400–50; late Middle English maxime ≪ Medieval Latin maxima (orig. in phrase maxima prōpositiō axiom, literally, greatest proposition), noun use of feminine of Latin maximus, superlative of magnus great; see much

Can be confusedadage aphorism apothegm axiom maxim proverb

Synonyms for maxim

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1. aphorism, saying, adage, apothegm. See proverb.

Maxim

[mak-sim; for 4 also French mak-seem, Russian muh-ksyeem]

noun

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for maxim

aphorism, dictum, adage, theorem, proverb, motto, axiom, byword, commonplace, belief, truism, epithet, prescript, canon, rule, tenet, precept, moral, platitude, device

Examples from the Web for maxim

Contemporary Examples of maxim

He should have stuck to his own maxim: march separately and fight together.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator
J.P. O’Malley
November 7, 2014
Her book, for example, does not discuss her buzzed-about, scantily clad Maxim photo shoot from last year, and so neither do we.
'Boy Meets World' Star Danielle Fishel Is OK with Being Topanga Forever
Kevin Fallon
September 11, 2014
And now one of the nastiest men in Russia, Maxim Martsinkevich, has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Jail Won't Stop Russia's Anti-Gay Psycho
Jay Michaelson
August 20, 2014
The maxim proved true: Necessity is the mother of invention.
Cheap Trick: Most Magicians Are Lazy Hacks
Rick Lax
August 19, 2014
She felt a Maxim cover would be too racy, but now she finds herself performing solo acts for fans on MyFreeCams.
Jenna Jameson Breaks Her Vow
Aurora Snow
November 18, 2013

Historical Examples of maxim

He fired his volley of explanation at his employer with the rapidity of a Maxim gun.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Apply this maxim—you may do it a thousand ways, especially in company.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
"No faith with duns" became, as he frankly declared, a maxim of his morality.
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
What a man does by another he does by himself, says the maxim.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
This expression has ever since held its place as a maxim of polite conversation.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 13, June 25, 1870
Various

British Dictionary definitions for maxim

maxim

noun

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

Word Origin for maxim

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

Maxim

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for maxim

"precept, principle," early 15c., from Middle French maxime, from Late Latin maxima, shortened from phrases such as maxima propositio, maxima sententarium "axiom," literally "greatest premise, greatest among propositions" (one which is general and absolute), from fem. of maximus "greatest" (see maximum).

Maxim

single-barreled water-cooled machine gun, 1885, named for inventor, U.S.-born British engineer Sir Hiram S. Maxim (1840-1916).