Definition:Axiom/Also known as

Definition
An axiom is also known as a postulate.

Among ancient Greek philosophers, the term axiom was used for a general truth that was common to everybody (see Euclid's "common notions"), while postulate had a specific application to the subject under discussion.

For most authors, the distinction is no longer used, and the terms are generally used interchangeably. This is the position of.

However, some believe there is a difference significant enough to matter:


 * ... we shall use "postulate" instead of "axiom" hereafter, as "axiom" has a pernicious historical association of "self-evident, necessary truth", which "postulate" does not have; a postulate is an arbitrary assumption laid down by the mathematician himself and not by God Almighty.
 * -- : Chapter $\text{II}$: Modern Minds in Ancient Bodies