26984 words

canon

8 definitions • 10 examples
3
the writings or other works that are generally agreed to be good, important, and worth studying:

Examples:

He has made it into the canon of English poetry.
She argues that the canon must be opened up to more non-European writers.
People sometimes think the classical music canon finishes around 1900.
4
all the writings or other works known to be by a particular person:

Examples:

the Shakespearean canon
This is as important a piece of music as any in the Mahler canon.
5
a book, TV show, film, etc. that its fans (= people who like it very much) use to base their own stories, activities, etc. on:

Examples:

Things fans might produce in honour of a canon include paintings, comics, videos, fan fiction and cosplay.
Many Harry Potter fans don't consider anything but the published books to be canon.
6
a piece of music, or a way of singing or chanting in which one voice sings a part and then other voices sing the same part one at a time in a way that is slightly different:

Examples:

The phrases are chanted in canon by the monks as a form of meditation.
The music teacher taught the class to sing in a canon.
7
a principle or law, or a set of these, esp. in a Christian church:

Examples:

The canon for lawyers has clear restrictions.
8
the repetition of a musical pattern after it has been sung or played once, although not always in the same octave or by the same instrument

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