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canon

Etymology and origin of the French word canon

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inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek κανών
Latin canon
French canon

French has two main words canon: the gun, derived from canne “tube” and taking its artillery sense from Italian cannone, and the rule, borrowed from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, rule”).[1][2][3]

canon1 gun

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation, Borrowing
First attested
1282
Borrowed from
Italian cannone
Ultimate origin
Latin (canna)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.nɔ̃/[3]

Forms

canon m (plural canons)[3]

Etymology

The gun word covers two formations: cannon (1282), derived in French from canne “tube, reed”, and in the 14th century the artillery term borrowed from Italian cannone, an augmentative of canna (“tube”), from Latin canna.[2][4][1] The Italian word gave the weapon senses, the French derivative the others.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A register of Saint-Omer (1282) has cannon de pure soie, a bobbin of silk.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The basic idea is “large tube”: a pipe of a fountain (1448), the barrel of a syringe (1611), the part of a lock that takes the key (1676) and the hollow of a key (1690).[4][2] From 1578 the canons were the ornamental frills at the bottom of breeches, fashionable in the 17th century and often mocked by Molière.[2][4] The artillery term is recorded in 1338, and Froissart describes the canons of Ghent;[4][2][5] poudre à canon dates from 1548, and chair à canon is attributed to Napoleon.[4][2][5] The barrel of a gun is canon from 1569.[2][4] From a measure of wine (1596) came the slang “glass of red wine”, and modern slang made it an intensive: une fille canon, elle est canon.[2][1]

Timeline

  • 1282 – Cannon, a bobbin.[4]
  • 1338 – A piece of artillery.[4]
  • 1448 – Canon de fontaine.[4]
  • 1548 – Poudre à canon.[4]
  • 1569 – The barrel of a firearm.[2]
  • 1578 – Ornamental breech frills.[4]
  • 1596 – A measure of wine.[2][1]
  • 1945 – Canon à électrons.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cannon, a piece of artillery: canon antichar, poudre à canon, chair à canon.[6][7]
  2. The barrel of a firearm: le canon d'un fusil.[4][3]
  3. A tube, the hollow part of an object: canon d'une clé, canon à neige, a snow gun, canon à électrons.[4][3]
  4. (anatomy) The cannon bone of a horse; the part of a bit that rests on the bars.[8][3]
  5. (history) An ornamental frill at the bottom of breeches.[4][2]
  6. (slang) A glass of red wine.[2][3]
  7. (slang) A very attractive person; as an adjective, gorgeous: elle est canon.[2][8]

Word family

  • canonnage
  • canonnerie

canon2 rule

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1259
Borrowed from
Latin canon
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (κανών)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ka.nɔ̃/[3]

Forms

canon m (plural canons)[3]

Etymology

The rule is borrowed from Latin canōn (“model, rule”), from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, rule”), with the senses developed in Church Latin.[1][9][3] Wiktionary ascribes the slang sense “attractive person” to an ellipsis of “canon de beauté” in this word;[3][2][8] Rey and Larousse place it with the gun.[3][2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Robert dictionaries date it to 1259, a theological term for a rule of the Church.[1][6][9]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it also named the part of the Mass containing the words of consecration, and in the 17th century the list of books accepted as inspired.[6] Droit canon, Church law, uses it as an adjective.[6] In the fine arts it means a set of rules fixing ideal proportions, whence canon de beauté.[6]

Timeline

  • 1259 – A rule of the Church.[1][6]
  • 13th century – The canon of the Mass.[6]
  • 17th century – The canon of Scripture.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (theology) A rule or decree of the Church, droit canon, canon law.[6][9]
  2. The list of books accepted as divinely inspired: le canon de l'Ancien Testament.[6]
  3. Canon de la messe: the central part of the Mass.[6]
  4. (formal) A norm, a rule; in art, the ideal proportions of the human body, canon de beauté.[6][3]
  5. (music) A canon.[3][6]

Word family

  • canonique
  • canoniser
  • canoniste

Usage notes

The geographical canon or cañon, a canyon, is a different borrowing, from the Mexican Spanish cañón at the end of the 19th century, first used of the Colorado.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Canon.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/canon. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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