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

Maxim

²

/ 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

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

Maxim Kharkin, 36, was invited to the festival at the last moment.

From BBC

Maxim, a 30-year-old builder by trade, looks to be the most youthful of the cohort.

From BBC

Maxim Loskutoff’s second novel, “Old King,” is an attempt to sort through Kaczynski’s contradictions, to acknowledge the manifesto’s prophetic elements while stressing it’s the product of a sociopath.

From Los Angeles Times

The latest round of measures will boot the attaché, Maxim Elovik, a Russian colonel who the government termed an “undeclared military intelligence officer.”

From Seattle Times

The best defense against an infantry assault was an entirely new weapon, the machine gun, invented by an American-born engineer named Hiram Maxim.

From Literature

Related Words

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