# maxim
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈmæk.sɪm/
* (US) IPA: /ˈmæk.sɪm/, /ˈmæk.səm/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)

### 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)
* (now rare) A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.
* A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.
** 1776, Wealth of Nations‎, 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, 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

##### See also

* adage
* aphorism
* apophthegm

### Etymology 2

From Sir Hiram Maxim.

#### Noun

maxim (plural maxims)
* Alternative letter-case form of Maxim

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmaksɪm]

### Noun

maxim m inan
* (archaic) maxim

#### Related terms

* maximalismus
* maximalista
* maximalistický
* maximalizace
* maximalizovat
* maximální
* maximum

#### See also

* pořekadlo
* poučka
* pravidlo
* zásada

### References

* ↑ Attested in title:Casopis pro Katolicke Duchowenstwo 1845, title:Ruch 1888, title:Květy 1895, title:Rudé květy 1904, title:Pokroková revue 1908, title:Osvěta 1916, Hurban 1929, Brom 1982

### 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: /makˈsim/, /maɡˈzim/

### Adverb

maxim
* 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: /ˈmak.sim/

### Adjective

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

### Noun

maxim n (plural maxime or maximuri)
* maximum

#### Declension
### References

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

## Swedish
### Noun

maxim c
* a maxim (precept)

#### Declension

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

### References

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