axiom
/ˈaksɪəm
/noun
1A statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true: the axiom that sport builds character...
- I decline to accept as an axiom that our fate is involved in that of France.
- It is an axiom that every research establishment is strong to the extent of an unbreakable link existing between different generations.
- We have all heard the very true axiom that bookmakers really don't care who wins any given game, as long as there are equal amounts wagered on both sides.
Synonyms
accepted truth, general truth, dictum, truism, principle;
proposition, postulate;
maxim, saying, adage, aphorism
rare apophthegm, gnome
1.1chiefly Mathematics A statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based.The second chapter presents a development of absolute and Euclidean geometry based on Hilbert's axioms....
- Robert Simson of Glasgow University had, in his 1756 edition of the Elements, given a proof of the parallel axiom based on another assumption.
- He sees mathematics as ontology and so his return to philosophy is to a systematic one based on the axioms of set theory.
Origin
Late 15th century: from French axiome or Latin axioma, from Greek axiōma 'what is thought fitting', from axios 'worthy'.
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