a. [ Pref. ad- + maxillary. ] (Anat.) Near to the maxilla or jawbone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Rhet.) A sentence in which the ideas fall, or become less important and striking, at the close; -- the opposite of climax. It produces a ridiculous effect. Example: Next comes Dalhousie, the great god of war,
Lieutenant-colonel to the Earl of Mar. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., from Gr. &unr_; ladder, staircase, fr. &unr_; to make to bend, to lean. See Ladder, Lean, v. i. ] 1. Upward movement; steady increase; gradation; ascent. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Rhet.) A figure in which the parts of a sentence or paragraph are so arranged that each succeeding one rises above its predecessor in impressiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

“Tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, and experience hope” -- a happy climax. J. D. Forbes. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The highest point; the greatest degree. [ 1913 Webster ]

We must look higher for the climax of earthly good. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cap the climax, to surpass everything, as in excellence or in absurdity. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Homo- + Gr. &unr_; an axle, axis. ] (Biol.) Relating to that kind of homology or symmetry, the mathematical conception of organic form, in which all axes are equal. See under Promorphology. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Infra + maxillary. ] (Anat.) (a) Under the lower jaw; submaxillary; as, the inframaxillary nerve. (b) Of or pertaining to the lower iaw. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Intermaxillæ (Anat.) See Premaxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) (a) Between the maxillary bones. (b) Of or pertaining to the intermaxillæ. -- n. An intermaxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L. ] (Zool.) A genus of airbreathing mollusks, including the common garden slugs. They have a small rudimentary shell. The breathing pore is on the right side of the neck. Several species are troublesome in gardens. See Slug. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Maxillae [ L., dim. of mala jaw, jawbone. ] 1. (Anat.) (a) The bone of either the upper or the under jaw. (b) The bone, or principal bone, of the upper jaw, the bone of the lower jaw being the mandible. [ Now commonly used in this restricted sense. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) One of the lower or outer jaws of arthropods. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ There are usually two pairs in Crustacea and one pair in insects. In certain insects they are not used as jaws, but may form suctorial organs. See Illust. under Lepidoptera, and Diptera. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. maxillaris, fr. maxilla jawbone, jaw: cf. F. maxillaire. ] 1. (Anat.) Pertaining to either the upper or the lower jaw, but now usually applied to the upper jaw only. -- n. The principal maxillary bone; the maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to a maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Maxilla + -form: cf. F. maxilliforme. ] Having the form, or structure, of a maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Maxilla + L. pes, pedis, foot. ] (Zool.) One of the mouth appendages of Crustacea, situated next behind the maxillae. Crabs have three pairs, but many of the lower Crustacea have but one pair of them. Called also jawfoot, and foot jaw. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Maxilla + mandibular. ] (Anat.) Pertaining to the maxilla and mandible; as, the maxillo-mandibular nerve. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Maxilla + palatine. ] (Anat.) Pertaining to the maxillary and palatine regions of the skull; as, the maxillo-palatine process of the maxilla. Also used as n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Maxilla + turbinal. ] (Anat.) Pertaining to the maxillary and turbinal regions of the skull. -- n. The maxillo-turbinal, or inferior turbinate, bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. maxime, L. maxima (sc. sententia), the greatest sentence, proposition, or axiom, i. e., of the greatest weight or authority, fem. fr. maximus greatest, superl. of magnus great. See Magnitude, and cf. Maximum. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An established principle or proposition; a condensed proposition of important practical truth; an axiom of practical wisdom; an adage; a proverb; an aphorism. [ 1913 Webster ]

'T is their maxim, Love is love's reward. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) The longest note formerly used, equal to two longs, or four breves; a large. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Axiom; aphorism; apothegm; adage; proverb; saying. See Axiom. [ 1913 Webster ]

A kind of machine gun; -- named after its inventor, Hiram S. Maxim. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ From the proper name. ] A gold coin of Bavaria, of the value of about 13s. 6d. sterling, or about three dollars and a quarter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Maximization. [ Chiefly Brit. ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The act or process of increasing to the highest degree. Bentham. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. maximus greatest. ] To increase to the highest degree. Bentham. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Making as great as possible; increasing tothe highest degree. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Maxima [ L., neut. from maximus the greatest. See Maxim. ] The greatest quantity or value attainable in a given case; or, the greatest value attained by a quantity which first increases and then begins to decrease; the highest point or degree; -- opposed to minimum. [ 1913 Webster ]

Good legislation is the art of conducting a nation to the maximum of happiness, and the minimum of misery. P. Colquhoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

Maximum thermometer, a thermometer that registers the highest degree of temperature attained in a given time, or since its last adjustment. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Greatest in quantity or highest in degree attainable or attained; as, a maximum consumption of fuel; maximum pressure; maximum heat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cgs unit of magnetic flux, abbreviated Mx; it is equal to the magnetic flux passing through one sqaure centimeter which is normal to a magnetic field of one gauss.
Syn. -- Mx. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. See Premaxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Premaxillæ [ NL. See Pre-, and Maxilla. ] (Anat.) A bone on either side of the middle line between the nose and mouth, forming the anterior part of each half of the upper jawbone; the intermaxilla. In man the premaxillæ become united and form the incisor part of the maxillary bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Situated in front of the maxillary bones; pertaining to the premaxillæ; intermaxillary. -- n. A premaxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pterygoid + maxillary. ] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the inner pterygoid plate, or pterygoid bone, and the lower jaw. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the nasal septum and the maxilla; situated in the region of these parts. -- n. A small bone between the nasal septum and the maxilla in many reptiles and amphibians. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the styloid process and the maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) (a) Situated under the maxilla, or lower jaw; inframaxillary; as, the submaxillary gland. (b) Of or pertaining to submaxillary gland; as, submaxillary salvia. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. See Super-, and Maxilla. ] (Anat.) The supermaxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Supermaxillary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Supramaxillae (Anat.) The upper jaw or maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) (a) Situated over the lower jaw; as, the supramaxillary nerve. (b) Of or pertaining to the upper jaw. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to both the temple or the temporal bone and the maxilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

. An automatic machine gun in which the mechanism is worked by the recoil, assisted by the pressure of gases from the muzzle, which expand in a gas chamber against a disk attached to the end of the barrel, thus moving the latter to the rear with increased recoil, and against the front wall of the gas chamber, checking the recoil of the system. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Ordnance) One of a system of ordnance, including machine, quick-fire, coast, and field guns, of all calibers, manufactured by the combined firms of Vickers' Sons of Sheffield and Maxim of Birmingham and elsewhere, England. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]