maxim

See also: Maxim and màxim

English

WOTD – 13 November 2009

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmæk.sɪm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmæk.sɪm/, /ˈmæk.səm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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Etymology 1

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 prōpositiō maxima (“greatest premise”)). Doublet of maxima.

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, Wealth of Nations‎^[1], archived from the original on 26 June 2008, 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.

   • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter V, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 42:

     It was impossible to imagine anything more cold or comfortless, while it was a task of no small dexterity to thread your way through the labyrinth of trunks, bandboxes, &c.; for it had of late years become a maxim with Lady Anne that nothing ought to be thrown or given away:...

   • 2024 May 6, Lt Flops, “Pursuing Ghosts, Part II”, in SCP Foundation‎^[2], archived from the original on 2 June 2024:

     Those maxims lurch through my head like rivers of lava. Those smarmy, know-it-all maxims. Trivia disguised as deeply held wisdom.

Synonyms

• (precept, succinct statement): Synonym: aphorism, cliche, enthymeme, proverb, saying
• See also Thesaurus:saying

Derived terms

• maxim worker
• Shannon's maxim
• Skinner's maxim

 

Translations

moral precept

• Arabic: حِكْمَة f (ḥikma)
• Bulgarian: сентенция (bg) f (sentencija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 格言 (zh) (géyán), 箴言 (zh) (zhēnyán), 金言 (zh) (jīnyán), 座右銘／座右铭 (zh) (zuòyòumíng), 警句 (zh) (jǐngjù)

• Czech: maxim (cs) m, poučka f
• Danish: maksime c
• Esperanto: maksimo
• Finnish: maksiimi (fi)
• French: maxime (fr) f
• German: Maxime (de) f, Grundsatz (de) m
• Italian: massima (it) f, principio (it) m
• Japanese: 格言 (ja) (かくげん, kakugen)
• Korean: 격언 (ko) (gyeogeon)
• Latin: ēlogium n, dictum (la) n
• Macedonian: начело n (načelo), максима f (maksima)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: maksime (no) m, leveregel (no) m

  Nynorsk: maksime (no) m, leveregel (no) m

• Polish: maksyma (pl) f
• Portuguese: máxima (pt) f
• Romanian: maximă (ro) f, maxime f pl
• Russian: ма́ксима (ru) f (máksima), изрече́ние (ru) n (izrečénije), сенте́нция (ru) f (sentɛ́ncija)
• Spanish: máxima (es) f
• Swedish: maxim (sv) c
• Tagalog: pananabi
• Thai: คติบท

See also

• adage
• aphorism
• apophthegm

Etymology 2

From Sir Hiram Maxim.

Noun

maxim (plural maxims)

1. Alternative letter-case form of Maxim

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaksɪm]

Noun

maxim m inan

1. (archaic) maxim

Declension

Declension of maxim (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	maxim	maximy
genitive	maximu	maximů
dative	maximu	maximům
accusative	maxim	maximy
vocative	maxime	maximy
locative	maximu	maximech
instrumental	maximem	maximy

Related terms

• maximalismus
• maximalista
• maximalistický
• maximalizace
• maximalizovat
• maximální
• maximum

 

See also

• pořekadlo
• poučka
• pravidlo
• zásada

Further reading

• “maxim”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “maxim”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• maxim in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from English maximum, French maximum, German Maximum, Italian massimo, Russian ма́ксимум (máksimum), Spanish máximo. Regarded as a shortened form of maxime.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /makˈsim/, /maɡˈzim/

Adverb

maxim

1. most

   Antonym: minim

Derived terms

• admaxime (“at most, at the most”)
• maxima (“highest”)
• maximo (“maximum”)

 

See also

• plu
• min

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French maxime.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmak.sim/

Adjective

maxim m or n (feminine singular maximă, masculine plural maximi, feminine and neuter plural maxime)

1. maximum

Noun

maxim n (plural maxime or maximuri)

1. maximum

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	maxim	maxi		maximi	maximile
genitive-dative	maximi	maximii		maximi	maximilor
vocative	—			—

References

• maxim in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Swedish

Noun

maxim c

1. a maxim (precept)

Declension

Declension of maxim

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	maxim	maxims
	definite	maximen	maximens
plural	indefinite	maximer	maximers
	definite	maximerna	maximernas

References

• maxim in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• maxim in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• maxim in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)