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canon

ca·non

UK/ˈkæn.ən/ US/ˈkænʌn/ uncommon dated obsolete slang

noun

1.

a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field or art or philosophy

  • “the neoclassical canon”
  • “canons of polite society”
2.

a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter

3.

a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall

Synonyms
4.

a contrapuntal piece of music in which a melody in one part is imitated exactly in other parts

5.

a complete list of saints that have been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church

6.

Origin

* As an English, Scottish, and Irish surname, variant of Cannon. * As a French topographical surname, from placenames derived from canne (“reed, cane, tube”). * As a Chaldean/Chaldean Neo-Aramaic surname, variant of Kanon, Kanoun, from [script needed] (Kānūn), the Classical Syriac name of the ninth and tenth months of the Assyrian calendar, from ܟܢܘܢ ܒ.

Phrases

  • canon bit
  • canon bone
  • canon by contrary motion
  • canon event
  • Canon Frome
  • canon law
  • Canon's Marsh
  • Canons Park
  • crab canon
  • double canon
  • enigma canon
  • Stoke Canon

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.