axiom

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A statement accepted as obviously true without needing proof.

   It is an axiom of good business that the customer should always be treated with respect.

2. 2
   noun

   A basic principle taken as a starting point from which other truths are derived.

   Geometry is built on a small set of axioms that no one tries to prove.

From Middle French axiome in the 15th century, from Latin axiōma (“axiom; principle”), from Ancient Greek ἀξίωμα (axíōma, “that which is thought to fit, a requisite, that which a pupil is required to know beforehand, a self-evident principle”), from ἀξιόω (axióō, “to think fit or worthy, to require, to demand”), from ἄξιος (áxios, “fit, worthy”, literally “weighing as much as; of like value”), from ἄγω (ágō, “to weigh (down)”).

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