[can.on] n [ME, fr. OE, fr. LL, fr. L, ruler, rule, model, standard, fr. Gk kanon] (bef. 12c) 1 a: a regulation or dogma decreed by a church council b: a provision of canon law
2: the most solemn and unvarying part of the Mass including the consecration of the bread and wine 3a: an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture b: the authentic works of a writer c: a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works "the ~ of great literature"
4. a: an accepted principle or rule b: a criterion or standard of judgment c: a body of principles, rules, standards, or norms
5: a contrapuntal musical composition in two or more voice parts in which the melody is imitated exactly and completely by the successive voices though not always at the same pitch syn see law
[2]canon n [ME canoun, fr. AF canunie, fr. LL canonicus one living under a rule, fr. L, according to rule, fr. Gk kanonikos, fr. kanon] (13c) 1: a clergyman belonging to the chapter or the staff of a cathedral or collegiate church
2: canon regular ca.non var of canyon