maxim

[ mak-sim ]
See synonyms for maxim on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an expression of a general truth or principle, especially an aphoristic or sententious one: the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.

  2. a principle or rule of conduct.

Origin of maxim

1
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”; see much

synonym study For maxim

1. See proverb.

Other words for maxim

Words that may be confused with maxim

Other definitions for Maxim (2 of 2)

Maxim
[ mak-sim; for 4 also 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.

  1. Hudson, 1853–1927, U.S. inventor and explosives expert (brother of Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim).

  2. a male given name, form of Maximilian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use maxim in a sentence

  • The new gun proved so successful that the inventor was knighted, and became Sir Hiram maxim.

    Inventions of the Great War | A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
  • Most notable attempts with this expedient were now shortly made by Hiram maxim, Langley, and others.

  • Somewhat similar in outward design is the huge mechanical bird built by Sir Hiram maxim.

  • In 1895 a huge steam-propelled aeroplane built by Sir Hiram maxim burst the rails holding it down and lifted for a few feet.

  • Mr. Hiram maxim has declared that a flying machine in South Africa would have been worth four times its weight in gold.

    Boys' Second Book of Inventions | Ray Stannard Baker

British Dictionary definitions for maxim (1 of 2)

maxim

/ (ˈmæksɪm) /


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

Origin of maxim

1
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
  1. 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