name
Meaning 1
A surname
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
maxim
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: /ˈmæk.sɪm/
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US: /ˈmæk.sɪm/
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US: /ˈmæk.səm/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: M AE1 K S AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Alternative letter-case form of Maxim.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: engineering, firearms, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Maxim gun, Vickers gun
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Any machine gun that derives from the design pattern of Maxim's patented design
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: engineering, firearms, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
A machine gun
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, obsolete
Topics: engineering, firearms, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: axiom
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: saying, expression, locution
Narrower terms: aphorism, apothegm, apophthegm, gnome, moralism
noun
Meaning 9
English inventor (born in the United States) who invented the Maxim gun that was used in World War I (1840-1916)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: inventor, discoverer, artificer
History
Etymology
* (machine guns): After the inventor Sir Hiram Maxim (1840-1916).
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.
From Sir Hiram Maxim.
Across languages
Translations
39 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: حِكْمَة (ḥikma) — moral precept
- Bulgarian: сентенция (sentencija) — moral precept
- Chinese Mandarin: 格言 (géyán) — moral precept
- Chinese Mandarin: 箴言 (zhēnyán) — moral precept
- Chinese Mandarin: 金言 (jīnyán) — moral precept
- Chinese Mandarin: 座右銘 /座右铭 (zuòyòumíng) — moral precept
- Chinese Mandarin: 警句 (jǐngjù) — moral precept
- Czech: maxim — moral precept
- Czech: poučka — moral precept
- Danish: maksime — moral precept
- Esperanto: maksimo — moral precept
- Esperanto: sentenco — moral precept
- Finnish: maksiimi — moral precept
- French: maxime — moral precept
- German: Maxime — moral precept
- German: Grundsatz — moral precept
- Italian: massima — moral precept
- Italian: principio — moral precept
- Japanese: 格言 (kakugen) — moral precept
- Korean: 격언 (gyeogeon) — moral precept
- Latin: ēlogium — moral precept
- Latin: dictum — moral precept
- Macedonian: начело (načelo) — moral precept
- Macedonian: максима (maksima) — moral precept
- Norwegian Bokmål: maksime — moral precept
- Norwegian Bokmål: leveregel — moral precept
- Norwegian Nynorsk: maksime — moral precept
- Norwegian Nynorsk: leveregel — moral precept
- Polish: maksyma — moral precept
- Portuguese: máxima — moral precept
- Romanian: maximă — moral precept
- Romanian: maxime — moral precept
- Russian: ма́ксима (máksima) — moral precept
- Russian: изрече́ние (izrečénije) — moral precept
- Russian: сенте́нция (sentɛ́ncija) — moral precept
- Spanish: máxima — moral precept
- Swedish: maxim — moral precept
- Tagalog: pananabi — moral precept
- Thai: คติบท — moral precept
Real reading context