Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A succinct formulation of a fundamental principle, general truth, or rule of conduct. See Synonyms at saying.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A proposition serving as a rule or guide; a summary statement of an established or accepted principle; a pithy expression of a general rule of conduct or action, whether true or false: as, the maxims of religion or of law; the maxims of worldly wisdom or of avarice; ethical maxims.
- n. In logic, the rule of a commonplace; an ultimate major premise.
- n. An axiom.
- n. Same as maxima. Synonyms Precept, Axiom, etc. See
aphorism .
Wiktionary
- n. A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.
- n. A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An established principle or proposition; a condensed proposition of important practical truth; an axiom of practical wisdom; an adage; a proverb; an aphorism.
- n. (Mus.) The longest note formerly used, equal to two longs, or four breves; a large.
WordNet 3.0
- n. English inventor (born in the United States) who invented the Maxim gun that was used in World War I (1840-1916)
- n. a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
Etymologies
- 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 propositio maxima "greatest premise"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English maxime, from Old French, from Medieval Latin maxima, from maxima (prōpositiō), greatest (premise), feminine of Latin maximus, greatest; see meg- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This maxim is a wise guide to a great and simple precaution in life: Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives …”
The Psychology of Entrepreneurial Misjudgment, part 1: Biases 1-6 « Isegoria
“[5] this maxim is as true as ever fell from poetical pen & there has more morality distilled from the waters of Helicon [6] than ever was procured from the withered skulls of metaphysicians or Philosophers.”
“And the old ‘first impressions’ maxim is one which cuts both ways, unfortunately for all concerned.”
“This is going to be awesome. anthony gadberry just read about this kid in maxim i think ... interesting story.”
David Gordon Green to Make Biopic About Teen Outlaw Colton Harris-Moore | /Film
“Yes, because they completely misunderstood what the beer-before-liquor maxim is about.”
“And this time, he likely has a better understanding than ever of the oft-quoted Mark Twain maxim: "Be good and you will be lonesome.”
“Note 47: The product of a progymnasmata exercise, gnome, a maxim, is an adaptation (abstraction or elaboration) of a preexisting moral statement.”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“Now, I do agree that a novel should be as long as a novel needs to be, but included within that maxim is the corollary that a novel should never be longer than it needs to be.”
“The flaw in Sagan's maxim is that an extraordinary claim is simply a claim about an extraordinary event and the occurrence of an extraordinary event does not necessarily entail that it would come with extraordinary evidence.”
“Buddhism remains in the position ascribed in the Logic to the doctrine of "Becoming," whose "maxim" is that "Being is the passage into Nought, and Nought the passage into Being”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘maxim’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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gre
municipal, whit, dissembler, berate, liberally, embellish, dissimilitude, histrionics, flamboyance, bombastic, bovine, calumny and 142 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
replete, steeped, eminent, indiscriminate, voracious, automaton, prognosticate, technology, abound, matron, tinge, compound and 297 more...
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Naresh_Gre2
convoke, cosset, coterie, declaim, distaff, doff, dovetail, droll, dyspeptic, egress, ersatz, euphemism and 108 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2053 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 569 more...
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GRE Study guide
Going through the Magoosh website, words I pulled from the verbal section. 2012.
magnanimous, correlate, anglicized, simulacrum, tantamount, obsequiousness, subterfuge, vehement, vociferous, benign, concomitant, veracity and 83 more...
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method
( investigation, randomness )
empirical, evidence, measurable, specific, quantifiable, principle, tact, foo, betwixt, axiom, maxim, uncertainty and 9 more...
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man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 483 more...
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PART 2: 100 Word You Should Know To B...
Here are 40 advanced English words which should you be able to use them in a sentence will impress even educated native speakers! Perfect if you want to impress the examiner in examinations like: I...
jubilant, knell, lithe, lurid, maverick, maxim, meticulous, modicum, morose, myriad, nadir, nominal and 28 more...
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Specificity
Words that have with subtly different meanings from other words.
vestibule, commoditize, commodify, monetize, corroborate, mezzanine, apposite, irony, calefacient, maxim, pandiculate, rarefaction and 40 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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Favorites
disparage, partisan, cupidity, hokum, tussle, odious, dastardly, overture, plane, chronic, peering, peer and 328 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for maxim.
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