maxim
[ mak-sim ]
/ ˈmæk sɪm /
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
Words nearby maxim
Definition for maxim (2 of 2)
Maxim
[ mak-sim; for 4 also French mak-seem, Russian muh-ksyeem ]
/ ˈmæk sɪm; for 4 also French makˈsim, Russian mʌˈksyim /
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.
Example sentences from the Web for maxim
British Dictionary definitions for maxim (1 of 2)
maxim
/ (ˈmæksɪm) /
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
British Dictionary definitions for maxim (2 of 2)
Maxim
/ (ˈmæksɪm) /
noun
Sir Hiram Stevens. 1840–1916, British inventor of the first automatic machine gun (1884), born in the US