The Collaborative International Dictionary
Maximum \Max"i*mum\, 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.
Good legislation is the art of conducting a nation to
the maximum of happiness, and the minimum of misery.
--P.
Colquhoun.
Maximum thermometer, a thermometer that registers the highest degree of temperature attained in a given time, or since its last adjustment.
Usage examples of "maximum thermometer".
The maximum thermometer showed that the acceleration had been controlled well below the danger point.