can·on
1 (kăńən)
[Middle English canoun, from Old English canon, and from Old French, both from Latin canōn, rule, from Greek kanōn, measuring rod, rule.]
noun
- An ecclesiastical law or code of laws established by a church council.
- A secular law, rule, or code of law.
- An established principle: the canons of polite society.
- A basis for judgment; a standard or criterion.
- The books of the Bible officially accepted as Holy Scripture.
- A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field: “the durable canon of American short fiction” (William Styron)
- The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic: the entire Shakespeare canon.
- The part of the Mass beginning after the Preface and Sanctus and ending just before the Lord's Prayer.
- The calendar of saints accepted by the Roman Catholic Church.
- Music A composition or passage in which a melody is imitated by one or more voices at fixed intervals of pitch and time.
can·on
2 (kăńən)
[Middle English canoun, from Norman French canun, from Late Latin canōnicus, one living under a rule, from Latin canōn, rule; see canon1.]
noun
- A member of a chapter of priests serving in a cathedral or collegiate church.
- A member of certain religious communities living under a common rule and bound by vows.
ca·ñon
(kăńyən)
noun
- Variant of canyon
can·yon,
also ca·ñon
(kăńyən)
[Spanish cañon augmentative of caña, tube, cane, from Latin canna, reed; see cane.]
noun
- A narrow chasm with steep cliff walls, cut into the earth by running water; a gorge.
