Axiom vs. Principle

Axiomnoun

(philosophy) A seemingly self-evident or necessary truth which is based on assumption; a principle or proposition which cannot actually be proved or disproved.

Principlenoun

A fundamental assumption or guiding belief.

‘We need some sort of principles to reason from.’;

Axiomnoun

A fundamental assumption that serves as a basis for deduction of theorems; a postulate (sometimes distinguished from postulates as being universally applicable, whereas postulates are particular to a certain science or context).

Principlenoun

A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.

‘The principle of least privilege holds that a process should only receive the permissions it needs.’;

Axiomnoun

An established principle in some artistic practice or science that is universally received.

‘The axioms of political economy cannot be considered absolute truths.’;

Principlenoun

Moral rule or aspect.

‘I don't doubt your principles.’; ‘You are clearly a person of principle.’; ‘It's the principle of the thing; I won't do business with someone I can't trust.’;

Axiomnoun

A self-evident and necessary truth, or a proposition whose truth is so evident as first sight that no reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer; a proposition which it is necessary to take for granted; as, "The whole is greater than a part;" "A thing can not, at the same time, be and not be."

Principlenoun

(physics) A rule or law of nature, or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.

‘Bernoulli's Principle’; ‘The Pauli Exclusion Principle prevents two fermions from occupying the same state.’; ‘The principle of the internal combustion engine’;

Axiomnoun

An established principle in some art or science, which, though not a necessary truth, is universally received; as, the axioms of political economy.

Principlenoun

A fundamental essence, particularly one producing a given quality.

‘Many believe that life is the result of some vital principle.’;

Axiomnoun

a saying that widely accepted on its own merits

Principlenoun

(obsolete) A beginning.

Axiomnoun

(logic) a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof; its truth is assumed to be self-evident

Principlenoun

A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.

Axiomnoun

a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true

‘the axiom that sport builds character’;

Principlenoun

An original faculty or endowment.

Axiomnoun

a statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based.

Principleverb

(transitive) To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet or rule of conduct.

Axiom

An axiom, postulate or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Greek axíōma (ἀξίωμα) 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident.'The term has subtle differences in definition when used in the context of different fields of study.

Principlenoun

Beginning; commencement.

‘Doubting sad end of principle unsound.’;

Principlenoun

A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.

‘The soul of man is an active principle.’;

Principlenoun

An original faculty or endowment.

‘Nature in your principles hath set [benignity].’; ‘Those active principles whose direct and ultimate object is the communication either of enjoyment or suffering.’;

Principlenoun

A fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived, or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate.

‘Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.’; ‘A good principle, not rightly understood, may prove as hurtful as a bad.’;

Principlenoun

A settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle.

‘All kinds of dishonesty destroy our pretenses to an honest principle of mind.’;

Principlenoun

Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; - applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc.

‘Cathartine is the bitter, purgative principle of senna.’;

Principleverb

To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct, good or ill.

‘Governors should be well principled.’; ‘Let an enthusiast be principled that he or his teacher is inspired.’;

Principlenoun

a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct;

‘their principles of composition characterized all their works’;

Principlenoun

a rule or standard especially of good behavior;

‘a man of principle’; ‘he will not violate his principles’;

Principlenoun

a basic truth or law or assumption;

‘the principles of democracy’;

Principlenoun

a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system;

‘the principle of the conservation of mass’; ‘the principle of jet propulsion’; ‘the right-hand rule for inductive fields’;

Principlenoun

rule of personal conduct

Principlenoun

(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature);

‘the rationale for capital punishment’; ‘the principles of internal-combustion engines’;

Principlenoun

a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning

‘the basic principles of justice’;

Principlenoun

a rule or belief governing one's behaviour

‘she resigned over a matter of principle’; ‘struggling to be true to their own principles’;

Principlenoun

morally correct behaviour and attitudes

‘a man of principle’;

Principlenoun

a general scientific theorem or law that has numerous special applications across a wide field.

Principlenoun

a natural law forming the basis for the construction or working of a machine

‘these machines all operate on the same general principle’;

Principlenoun

a fundamental source or basis of something

‘the first principle of all things was water’;

Principlenoun

a fundamental quality determining the nature of something

‘the combination of male and female principles’;

Principlenoun

an active or characteristic constituent of a substance, obtained by simple analysis or separation

‘the active principle of Spanish fly’;

Principle

A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed.