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maxim

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maxim¹

  • /ˈmæk.sɪm/ UK
  • /ˈmæk.sɪm/ US
  • /ˈmæk.səm/ US

Where it comes from

From Anglo-Norman maxime and Middle French maxime, from Late Latin maxima (“axiom”), noun use of the feminine singular form of Latin maximus (apparently as used in the phrase prōpositiō maxima (“greatest premise”)). Doublet of maxima.

noun maxims

  1. archaic A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.
  2. A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching. In every age and country of the world men must have attended to the characters, designs, and actions of one another, and many reputable rules and maxims for the conduct of human life, must have been laid down and approved of by common consent.

    Similar: Synonym: aphorism

Similar: cliche, enthymeme, proverb, saying

maxim²

  • /ˈmæk.sɪm/ UK
  • /ˈmæk.sɪm/ US
  • /ˈmæk.səm/ US

Where it comes from

Named after American and British inventor Hiram Maxim (1840–1916).

noun maxims

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Maxim Again we went on, and climbed the false immensity of another ridge, when several rifles and a maxim opened upon us, and very close they were.

Maxim³

Where it comes from

* As a given name, from Latin Maximus (“greatest”), superlative of magnus (“great”). Borne by several early Christian saints.

* As a French or Dutch surname, from the given name.

* For the machine gun, named after American and British inventor Hiram Maxim (1840–1916).

proper noun Maxims · Maxam · Maxim gun · maxim gun · maxim

  1. A male given name from Latin.
  2. A surname from French or from Dutch [in turn transferred from the given name, in turn from Latin].

noun Maxims · Maxam · Maxim gun · maxim gun · maxim

  1. Synonym of Maxim gun.

    Similar: Maxim gun

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: axiom, proverb, adage, saying, principle, wisdom, premise, watchword, dictum, tenet, quotation, phrase, slogan, rule, credo, max

noun

Similar: cliche, enthymeme, proverb, saying

Translations

Every language

noun moral precept

Españolmáxima
한국어격언 gyeogeon
日本語格言 kakugen
中文格言 géyán, 箴言 zhēnyán, 金言 jīnyán, 座右銘 /座右铭 zuòyòumíng, 警句 jǐngjù
Portuguêsmáxima
Françaismaxime
DeutschMaxime, Grundsatz
Italianomassima, principio
Românămaximă, maxime
Русскийма́ксима máksima, изрече́ние izrečénije, сенте́нция sentɛ́ncija
العربيةحِكْمَة ḥikma

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MLA

"maxim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/maxim. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

maxim. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/maxim

Chicago

"maxim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/maxim.

BibTeX
@misc{maxim_2026,
  title = {maxim},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/maxim},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}