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Definition of "cañon" []

  • An ecclesiastical law or code of laws established by a church council. (noun)
  • A secular law, rule, or code of law. (noun)
  • An established principle: the canons of polite society. (noun)
  • A basis for judgment; a standard or criterion. (noun)
  • The books of the Bible officially accepted as Holy Scripture. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "cañon" in a sentence
  • "The word canon, in classical Greek, is properly a straight rod, "a rule" in the widest sense, and especially in the phrases "the rule of the Church," "the rule of faith," "the rule of truth," The first direct application of the term canon to the Scriptures seems to be in the verses of Amphilochius"
  • "We kneel in reverence for the eucharistic prayer, also called the canon, a Greek word meaning “standard,” or “rule of measure.”"
  • "The Spirit speaks in the canon of Scripture (the word canon is derived from Hebrew, "kaneh," "a reed," the word here used; and John it was who completed the canon)."