Entry Word: maxim

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation <very few maxims are true for every single possible case, but they're reasonably good predictors> — see generalization
2 an often stated observation regarding something from common experience <it's a common maxim that “a watched pot never boils,” but that's not literally true> — see saying