ax·i·om 
(

k

s

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m)
KEY NOUN:
- A self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim: "It is an economic axiom as old as the hills that goods and services can be paid for only with goods and services" (Albert Jay Nock).
- An established rule, principle, or law.
- A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate.
ETYMOLOGY:Middle English, from Old French
axiome, from Latin
axi
ma, axi
mat-, from Greek, from
axios,
worthy; see
ag- in Indo-European roots