canon

1. A generally accepted principle; a rule.

   The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.

2. A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field.
3. The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.

   the entire Shakespeare canon

4. A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon.
5. A religious law or body of law decreed by the church.

   We must proceed according to canon law.

6. A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.
7. In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
8. A member of a cathedral chapter; one who possesses a prebend in a cathedral or collegiate church.
9. A piece of music in which the same melody is played by different voices, but beginning at different times; a round.

   Pachelbel’s Canon has become very popular.

10. (Roman law) A rent or stipend payable at some regular time, generally annual, e.g., canon frumentarius
11. Those sources, especially including literary works, which are considered part of the main continuity regarding a given fictional universe.

    A spin-off book series revealed the aliens to be originally from Earth, but it's not canon.

12. A rolled and filleted loin of meat; also called cannon.

    a canon of beef or lamb

13. A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
14. The part of a bell by which it is suspended; the ear or shank of a bell.
15. A carom.

1. A clergy member serving a cathedral or collegiate church.
2. A canon regular, a member of any of several Roman Catholic religious orders.

noun

A Near Eastern and Caucasian musical instrument related to the zither, dulcimer, or harp having either 26 strings and a single bridge, or twice that number and two bridges.