maximal

Etymology

maximum + -al

adj

1. Largest, greatest (in magnitude), highest, most.
2. (mathematics, of a sequence) Larger than any previous term in the sequence.
   In the sequence (1, 2, 10, 5, 12, 6), the fifth term, f(5) = 12, is a maximal term, as each of the first 4 terms are smaller than 12.

noun

1. (mathematics) The element of a set with the greatest magnitude.
2. (mathematics) Said of an ideal of a ring or a filter of a lattice: that it is as large as it can be without being trivial (improper).
3. (logic) Said of a set of well-formed formulas: that it is as large as it can be without being inconsistent; i.e. that for any well-formed formula φ, the set contains either φ or ~φ.