From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcanoncan‧on /ˈkænən/ noun [countable] 1 RRCa Christian priest who has special duties in a cathedral2 formalJUDGE a standard, rule, or principle, or set of these, that are believed by a group of people to be right and goodcanon of Mapplethorpe’s pictures offended the canons of American good taste.3 formalALAPM a) a list of books or pieces of music that are officially recognized as being the work of a certain writer the Shakespearean canon b) all the books that are recognized as being the most important pieces of literature the literary canon4 APMa piece of music in which a tune is started by one singer or instrument and is copied by each of the others5 RRCan established law of the Christian Church
Examples from the Corpus
canon• A much earlier development than the biblical canon was the evolution of the threefold ministry of bishop, presbyter, and deacon.• Institutions form canons and work to maintain hierarchies within them.• Clearly the availability of judgments and recent canons and books on procedure made a difference to the judges.• He has now acted in all 37 plays of the Shakespeare canon.• As its name implies, it has affinities with Realism, while rejecting its simpler canons.• I knew that I was violating all the canons of journalistic ethics.• For all of these the canons survive, recording royal involvement or approval.• Two canons swaggered by from the cathedral, clad in thick woollen robes lined with miniver.• And a film and video canon, or standard of excellence, is developing by which to measure theatrical productions of Shakespeare.CanonCanon trademark a brand (=type) of camera and other electronic equipment such as photocopiers made by the Japanese company CanonOrigin canon 1. (1100-1200) Anglo-French canunie, from Late Latin canonicus “person living under a rule”, from Greek, from kanon2. (800-900) Latin “ruler, rule, standard”, from Greek kanon 