canon Definition

canon
noun

1. A basic law, rule or principle.

Thesaurus: rule, law, standard, precept, criterion, principle, regulation, statute.
2a. A member of the clergy attached to a cathedral;
2b. C of E.
A member of the clergy who has special rights with regard to the election of bishops.
3. An officially accepted collection of writing, eg on religion, or work considered to be by a particular writer.
4. In the Christian church: a list of saints.
5. A section of the Roman Catholic mass.
6. A piece of music, similar to a round, in which a particular sequence is repeated with a regular overlapping pattern, by different voices or instruments.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon: from Greek kanon rod or rule.