'maxim-like' is a modern compound formed from the noun 'maxim' and the suffix '-like'. 'maxim' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'maxima' (as in 'maxima propositio'), where 'maximus' meant 'greatest'. The suffix '-like' derives from Old English '-lic' meaning 'having the nature of' or 'similar to'.

'maxim' entered English via Anglo-French 'maxime' from Latin 'maxima (propositio)'; the productive English suffix '-like' derives from Old English 'lic' (later Middle English '-lich'), and the two elements were combined in Modern English to form the adjective compound 'maxim-like'.

Initially, 'maxim' in Latin related to 'greatest' (through 'maximus') and to a principal proposition; over time it came to mean 'a concise statement expressing a general truth'. 'maxim-like' therefore evolved to mean 'resembling such a concise, general truth' or 'aphoristic'.