maxim

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
  2. noun English inventor (born in the United States) who invented the Maxim gun that was used in World War I (1840-1916)

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

axiom

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