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, mak-seem, 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. 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

At Loyola High he absorbed the Jesuit maxim of being a man for others.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I’d say the old maxim is true. What do your friends look like? Look in a mirror. What they look like is you,” he said.

Read more on Salon

“History doesn’t repeat itself,” the maxim maintains, “but it rhymes.”

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The battleship and the maxim gun, not the English countryside, empowered the Victorian imperialists.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

KFF’s misleading claim about premiums’ doubling echoes the maxim of not letting a good crisis go to waste, even if one has to use deceptive rhetoric to overstate the supposed “crisis.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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

When To Use

What is a maxim?

A maxim is a principle or guiding rule.A maxim is a rule, principle, or helpful guide that leads to a general truth, such as “Actions speak louder than words” and “Strive for greatness.”Different fields of philosophy develop many rules or guiding principles based on the founder of that philosophy’s studies. These will often be called maxims and will be attributed to that founder, such as Confucious’s maxims, Marx’s maxims, and Voltaire’s maxims.Maxim also describes a written or understood rule of conduct, as discussed within an organization. For example, a science lab may discuss a maxim of always keeping goggles on in certain areas of the lab.Example: My aunt, who was a short woman, often quoted the maxim “good things come in small packages.”