maxim

noun2

1. •
   A precept; a succinct statement or observation of a rule of conduct or moral teaching.

   • Those maxims lurch through my head like rivers of lava. Those smarmy, know-it-all maxims. Trivia disguised as deeply held wisdom. — 2024
2. •
   (no longer used) A self-evident axiom or premise; a pithy expression of a general principle or rule.

noun3

1. •
   The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.

   • Again we went on, and climbed the false immensity of another ridge, when several rifles and a maxim opened upon us, and very close they were. — 1928
2. •
   Any machine gun that derives from the design pattern of Maxim's patented design
3. •
   (informal, no longer used) A machine gun