Idiom vs Maxim - What's the difference?
idiom | maxim |
A manner of speaking, a way of expressing oneself.
A language or dialect.
Specifically, a particular variety of language; a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context etc.
* 2010 , (Christopher Hitchens), "The Other'' L-Word", ''Vanity Fair , 13 Jan 2010:
An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); an instance of such a style.
An expression peculiar to or characteristic of a particular language, especially when the meaning is illogical or separate from the meanings of its component words.
* 2008 , Patricia Hampl, “You’re History”, in Patricia Hampl and Elaine Tyler May (editors), Tell Me True: Memoir, History, and Writing a Life , Minnesota Historical Society, ISBN 9780873516303,
(programming) A programming construct or phraseology generally held to be the most efficient, elegant or effective means to achieve a particular result or behavior.
* {{quote-book, 2005, Magnus Lie Hetland, Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional, page=100, isbn=159059519X
, passage=I have to use the same assignment and call to raw_input in two places. How can I avoid that? I can use the while True/break idiom :
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 , ,
In _ rare lang=en terms the difference between idiom and maxim
is that idiom is a manner of speaking, a way of expressing oneself while maxim is a self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.As a proper noun Maxim is
the Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.idiom
English
(wikipedia idiom)Noun
(en-noun)- Many parents and teachers have become irritated to the point of distraction at the way the weed-style growth of "like" has spread through the idiom of the young.
page 134:
- You’re history , we say . Surely it is an American idiom . Impossible to imagine a postwar European saying, “You’re history. . . . That’s history,” meaning fuhgeddaboudit, pal.
Synonyms
* (phrase) expression (loosely), form of words (loosely), phrase (loosely)Derived terms
* idiolect * idiomatic * idiomatical * idiomaticallySee also
*External links
*American idioms- a comprehensive list of idioms, browsable through alphabetical links. Includes parts of speech, definitions and example sentences. *
English and American Idioms- RSS subscription channel *
Glossary of Linguistics*
Today's English Idioms at GoEnglish.com* *
Anagrams
* ----maxim
English
Noun
(en noun)Wealth of Nations, 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.