a rule or especially body of rules or principles generally established as valid and fundamental in a field of art or philosophy
"the neoclassical canon"
"canons of polite society"
a priest who is a member of a cathedral chapter
"The new canon was sworn into his seat at the cathedral chapter during the morning liturgy."
a contrapuntal piece of music in which a melody in one part is imitated exactly in other parts
"The choir performed a complex canon where the second voice waited five seconds to repeat the first singer's melodic line."
a complete list of saints that have been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church
"After years of debate, Pope Francis finally approved the new additions to the canon of saints for next year's feast days."
a collection of books accepted as holy scripture especially the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired
"The theologian spent years debating which ancient texts should be included in the final canon."
A generally accepted principle; a rule.
"The newly elected canon took his seat at the choir table during the morning service."
A clergy member serving a cathedral or collegiate church.
Alternative spelling of qanun
Alternative letter-case form of canon: a member of a chapter.
In plain English: Canon is the official list of stories and characters that are accepted as real within a specific fictional universe.
"The museum will soon exhibit the entire canon of Rembrandt's early paintings."
Usage: In everyday usage, a canon refers to an official collection of texts or rules accepted as authoritative within a specific group, such as the Bible or film franchises. Do not confuse this with the unrelated meaning of "canon" as a church official, which is now almost exclusively written in lowercase and rarely used outside of historical contexts.
A surname.
"The famous actor Canon Fife appeared at the gala last night in his role as a detective."
The word "canon" comes from the Latin canōn, which originally meant a measuring rod or standard in Ancient Greek. It traveled into English through Old French and Middle English to describe an official rule or list of accepted works.