English Meaning & Definitions
A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.
- “He lived his life by the maxim that honesty is the best policy.”
- “The old maxim 'haste makes waste' proved true when we had to redo the entire project.”
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “maxim”.
Derived from the Medieval Latin 'maxima (propositio)', meaning 'greatest proposition'. It originated in scholastic logic to denote a principle of the greatest importance or authority, eventually evolving into the general sense of a pithy rule of conduct.
Think of a 'maximum' amount of wisdom packed into a minimum number of words.
Frequently Asked Questions About “maxim”
1. What is the meaning of “maxim” in English?
In English, maxim (noun) is defined as: “A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.”.
2. How do you use “maxim” in a sentence?
“He lived his life by the maxim that honesty is the best policy.”
3. What are English synonyms of “maxim”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “maxim”?
Derived from the Medieval Latin 'maxima (propositio)', meaning 'greatest proposition'. It originated in scholastic logic to denote a principle of the greatest importance or authority, eventually evolving into the general sense of a pithy rule of conduct.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.