canon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: kăn'ən
ipa: /ˈkæn.ən/
rhymes: -ænən
homophone: cannon
Forms: form: canons
Etymology: From Middle English canoun, from Old French canon and Old English canon, both from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, standard”), akin to κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Semitic (compare Hebrew קָנֶה (qane, “reed”) and Arabic قَنَاة (qanāh, “reed”)). Doublet of qanun. See also cane, cannon, canyon, canal.
Senses: examples: text: The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.
text: Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter.
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
glosses: A generally accepted principle; a rule.
examples: text: the Canon of Polykleitos
text: Despite the many advances made by modern scholars towards a clearer comprehension of the theoretical basis of the Canon of Polykleitos, the results of these studies show an absence of any general agreement upon the practical application of that canon in works of art.
ref: 1975, Richard Tobin, “The Canon of Polykleitos”, in American Journal of Archaeology, volume 79, number 4, →DOI, →JSTOR, retrieved 02 Oct 2020, pages 307–321:
glosses: A generally accepted principle; a rule.
A formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art.
examples: text: Russo had been working as a salesman, selling Great Books of the Western World, hawking the canon to the rubes.
ref: 1992 February 2, Mitzel, “Clay Shaw, The Quean Network & That Kennedy Killing”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 28, page 12:
text: the durable canon of American short fiction
ref: 2015, William Styron, “Irwin Shaw”, in My Generation: Collected Nonfiction, page 456:
glosses: A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field.
examples: text: the entire Shakespearean canon
glosses: The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.
glosses: A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon.
examples: text: We must proceed according to canon law.
glosses: A religious law or body of law decreed by the church.
glosses: A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.
glosses: In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
examples: text: Pachelbel’s Canon has become very popular.
glosses: A piece of music in which the same melody is played by different voices, but beginning at different times; a round.
examples: text: The lessees of public lands had to pay a perpetual rent or "canon" at some periodical time.
ref: 1919 January 24, Charles P. Sherman, “A Brief History of Imperial Roman Canon Law”, in California Law Review, volume 7, number 2, Berkeley, California: University of California, pages 96–97:
topics: law
glosses: A rent or stipend payable at some regular time, generally annual, e.g., canon frumentarius
examples: text: A spin-off book series revealed the aliens to be originally from Earth, but it's not canon.
text: Meanwhile, having learned the whereabouts of the Death Star's plans, the rebels send their best platypus agent to obtain them, in hopes of finding a weakness. And none of this is canon, so just relax.
ref: 2014, Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars:
topics: lifestyle
coordinate_terms: lore#Noun
glosses: Those sources, especially including literary works, which are considered part of the main continuity regarding a given fictional universe; (metonymic) these sources' content.
examples: text: a canon of beef or lamb
topics: cooking
food
lifestyle
glosses: Alternative form of cannon (“rolled and filleted loin of meat”).
topics: media
printing
publishing
glosses: A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
glosses: The part of a bell by which it is suspended; the ear or shank of a bell.
Synonyms: sense: 48-point type
word: French canon
Derived terms: canon bit
canon bone
canon by contrary motion
canon event
canonic
canonical
canonicity
canonisation
canonization
canonise
canonize
canonist
canonistic
canon law
canonlike
canonship
crab canon
deuterocanonical
double canon
enigma canon
enigmatical canon
enigmatic canon
fanon
headcanon
infinite canon
minor canon
mirror canon
Morgan's canon
non-canon
noncanonical
perpetual canon
protocanonical
puzzle canon
riddle canon
soft canon