a maxim or principle of a science; or a sentence which comprehends a great deal in a few words. The word comes from ἀπόρια, I separate; q. d. a choice or select sentence.—The term is chiefly used in medicine and law. We say the aphorisms of Hippocrates, of Sanctorius, of Boerhaave, &c. aphorisms of the civil law, &c.