What does maxim mean?

Definitions for maxim
ˈmæk sɪmmax·im

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word maxim.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. maxim, axiomnoun

    a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits

  2. Maxim, Sir Hiram Stevens Maximnoun

    English inventor (born in the United States) who invented the Maxim gun that was used in World War I (1840-1916)

Wiktionary

  1. maximnoun

    A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.

  2. maximnoun

    A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.

  3. Maximnoun

    The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.

  4. Etymology: From maxime and maxime, from maxima, noun use of the feminine singular form of maximus (apparently as used in the phrase propositio maxima "greatest premise").

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Maximnoun

    An axiom; a general principle; a leading truth.

    Etymology: maxime, French; maximum, Lat.

    This maxim out of love I teach. William Shakespeare.

    It is a maxim in state, that all countries of new acquest, till settled, are rather matters of burden than of strength. Francis Bacon, War with Spain.

    Yet, as in duty bound, they serve him on;
    Nor ease, nor wealth, nor life itself regard,
    For ’tis their maxim, love is love’s reward. Dryden.

    That the temper, the sentiments, the morality of men, is influenced by the example and disposition of those they converse with, is a reflexion which has long since passed into proverbs, and been ranked among the standing maxims of human wisdom. John Rogers, Sermons.

ChatGPT

  1. maxim

    A maxim is a concise expression of a fundamental moral rule or basic principle of conduct. It is typically used in a general truth or piece of advice context. Maxims can be proverbs, idioms, or general declarations, conveying fundamental rules or principles to guide behavior or actions.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Maximnoun

    an established principle or proposition; a condensed proposition of important practical truth; an axiom of practical wisdom; an adage; a proverb; an aphorism

  2. Maximnoun

    the longest note formerly used, equal to two longs, or four breves; a large

Wikidata

  1. Maxim

    Maxim is an international men's magazine targeted at heterosexual adult males and based in the United Kingdom, and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude, sometimes clothed. Between 2010 and 2012 Maxim eliminated two issues, going from 12 issues a year to just ten, and decreased its circulation numbers by 20 percent, from a reported 2.5 million to only 2 million.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Maxim

    maks′im, n. a general principle, serving as a rule or guide: a pithy saying: a proverb.—adjs. Max′imal; Max′imed, reduced to a maxim.—ns. Max′imist, Max′im-mong′er. [Fr.,—L. maxima (sententia, an opinion), superl. of magnus, great.]

  2. Maxim

    maks′im, n. often put for Max′im-gun, an automatic machine-gun capable of firing as many as 620 rounds per minute, and of accurate shooting up to 3000 yards. [From Hiram Maxim, the inventor.]

Suggested Resources

  1. maxim

    Song lyrics by maxim -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by maxim on the Lyrics.com website.

Who Was Who?

  1. Maxim

    Patron saint of the American-English tourist in Paris who introduced New York prices into a naughty cafe. When a young man he discovered that the tourists were not paying enough money to see the sights. With the assistance of some handsomely gowned women he opened a cafe on the Rue Royal where they could. For years it was patronized by his countrymen until they were ruined. Later only royalty and tourists were permitted to enter and form a mistaken idea of the real French cafe, pay double prices for everything, see a few chorus girls, hear champagne bottles, and talk to English-speaking waiters. Ambition: Americans. Recreation: Staying at home. Press Agent: The Merry Widow and the Girl from Maxims. Epitaph: Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense.

  2. Maxim

    No relation of the above as he only manufactured things to kill people, and not to financially ruin them.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. MAXIM

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maxim is ranked #16575 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Maxim surname appeared 1,731 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Maxim.

    87.9% or 1,523 total occurrences were White.
    3.2% or 57 total occurrences were Asian.
    2.9% or 51 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.7% or 47 total occurrences were Black.
    1.6% or 29 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    1.3% or 24 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of maxim in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of maxim in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of maxim in a Sentence

  1. Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield:

    Most maxim-mongers have preferred the prettiness to the justness of a thought, and the turn to the truth but I have refused myself to everything that my own experience did not justify and confirm.

  2. George Washington:

    hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.

  3. Winston Churchill:

    The maxim of the British people is 'Business as Usual.'

  4. Thomas B. Macaulay:

    The maxim that people should not have a right till they are ready to exercise it properly, is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim.

  5. Polina Rumyantseva:

    We were able to visit the apartment of Maxim Borodin, together with the police and forensic experts on Friday, the intermediate conclusion is that Maxim Borodin fell out of the balcony of Maxim Borodin apartment where Maxim Borodin probably was smoking, as Maxim Borodin had big plans for Maxim Borodin personal life and career, there is nothing to support a verdict of suicide.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

maxim#10000#11902#100000

Translations for maxim

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"maxim." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/maxim>.

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