canon.
A generally accepted principle; a rule.
Meaning & usage
A generally accepted principle; a rule.
The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.
A generally accepted principle; a rule. A formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art.
the Canon of Polykleitos
A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field.
The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.
the entire Shakespearean canon
A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon.
A religious law or body of law decreed by the church.
We must proceed according to canon law.
A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.
In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
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.
A rent or stipend payable at some regular time, generally annual, e.g., canon frumentarius
The officially recognized continuity, events, characters, relationships, etc. of a work of fiction.
A spin-off book series revealed the aliens to be originally from Earth, but it's not canon.
Alternative form of cannon (“rolled and filleted loin of meat”).
a canon of beef or lamb
A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
The part of a bell by which it is suspended; the ear or shank of a bell.
Where this word comes from
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.
A type of clergymember serving a cathedral or collegiate church.
A canon regular, a member of any of several Roman Catholic religious orders.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English canoun, ultimately from Latin canonicus (either by shortening or back-formation from Old English canonic, or via Old Northern French canoine).
Clipping of canonical.
The franchise's book spinoff is usually not considered canon.
Alternative spelling of qanun.
Alternative spelling of cannon (“weapon”).
Alternative spelling of cannon (“a carom in billiards”).
Obsolete spelling of canyon.
Where this word comes from
From Spanish cañón, spelling it without the diacritics.
Try it on your idea.
canon has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.