canon

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A generally accepted principle; a rule.

   “The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.”

   “Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A generally accepted principle; a rule.

   “the Canon of Polykleitos”

   “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.”

3. (countable, uncountable)A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field.

   “Russo had been working as a salesman, selling Great Books of the Western World, hawking the canon to the rubes.”

   “the durable canon of American short fiction”

4. (countable, uncountable)The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.

   “the entire Shakespearean canon”

5. (countable, uncountable)A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon.
6. (countable, uncountable)A religious law or body of law decreed by the church.

   “We must proceed according to canon law.”

7. (countable, uncountable)A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.
8. (countable, uncountable)In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
9. (countable, uncountable)A piece of music in which the same melody is played by different voices, but beginning at different times; a round.

   “Pachelbel’s Canon has become very popular.”

10. (Roman, countable, uncountable)A rent or stipend payable at some regular time, generally annual, e.g., canon frumentarius

    “The lessees of public lands had to pay a perpetual rent or "canon" at some periodical time.”

11. (slang, uncountable)Those sources, especially including literary works, which are considered part of the main continuity regarding a given fictional universe; (metonymic) these sources' content.

    “A spin-off book series revealed the aliens to be originally from Earth, but it's not canon.”

    “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.”

12. (alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable)Alternative form of cannon (“rolled and filleted loin of meat”).

    “a canon of beef or lamb”

13. (dated, uncountable)A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
14. (countable, uncountable)The part of a bell by which it is suspended; the ear or shank of a bell.
15. A type of clergymember serving a cathedral or collegiate church.

    “The records show that in the early 960s the cathedral at Winchester was administered by a group of canons, every one of whom was married.”

16. A canon regular, a member of any of several Roman Catholic religious orders.
17. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative spelling of qanun.
18. (alt-of, alternative, obsolete)Alternative spelling of cannon (“weapon”).
19. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative spelling of cannon (“a carom in billiards”).
20. (alt-of, obsolete)Obsolete spelling of canyon.

    “[page 247:] the most wonderful depressions, gorges, canons, or valleys ever discovered. [page 249:] Some two miles on we come to where the three canons begin. [page 329:] the Canons of the Colorado River. This gave Moran his subject for a second painting, which he called the "Grand Chasm of the Colorado" [...]”

    “Clarks Canon, […] very sandy, hilly, deep canons (or ravines), river valleys, and no trees or brush […]”

21. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of canon: a member of a chapter.
22. Title for a canon.

    “Canon Smith is our new parish priest.”

adj

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang)Clipping of canonical.

   “The franchise's book spinoff is usually not considered canon.”

name

1. A surname.
2. (with-definite-article)The Canon of the Mass.