maxim
see also: Maxim
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈmæk.sɪm/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈmæk.sɪm/, /ˈmæk.səm/
Noun

maxim (plural maxims)

  1. (now rare) 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.
    • 1776, Adam Smith, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080626212135/http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=200&Itemid=28 Wealth of Nations], page 768:
      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.
Synonyms Translations
Maxim
Noun

maxim (plural maxims)

  1. The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.
    • 1928, Edmund Blunden, Undertones of War, Penguin 2010, p. 104:
      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.
    Synonyms: Maxim gun, Vickers gun



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