canon1
noun 1 a general rule or principle by which something is judged. 2 a Church decree or law. 3 a collection of authentic sacred books. 4 the authentic works of a particular author or artist. 5 a list of literary works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality. 6 Music a passage or piece of music in which a theme is taken up by two or more parts that overlap. ORIGIN Greek kanon rule.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
|