{"id":70272,"date":"2025-08-03T08:27:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T13:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=70272"},"modified":"2025-08-03T19:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T00:28:02","slug":"canonical-circles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=70272","title":{"rendered":"Canonical circles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today's xkcd<\/a>:<\/p>\n


\nMouseover title:<\/strong> \"Achilles was a mighty warrior, but his Achilles' heel was his heel.\"
\n
\nThe history of canon<\/em> is certainly fun, at least for those of us who enjoy semantic drift. But the circular drift is older than xkcd suggests. And the circle is arguably still incomplete, given Wiktionary's etymology<\/a>:<\/p>\n

From Middle English canoun<\/em>, from Old French canon<\/em> and Old English canon<\/em>, both from Latin can\u014dn<\/em>, from Ancient Greek \u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd (kan\u1e53n<\/em>, \u201cmeasuring rod, standard\u201d), akin to \u03ba\u03ac\u03bd\u03bd\u03b1 (k\u00e1nna<\/em>, \u201creed\u201d), from Semitic (compare Hebrew \u05e7\u05b8\u05e0\u05b6\u05d4 (qane<\/em>, \u201creed\u201d) and Arabic \u0642\u064e\u0646\u064e\u0627\u0629 (qan\u0101h<\/em>, \u201creed\u201d)).<\/p>\n

The OED's sense 1.a. of canon<\/em><\/p>\n

A rule, law, or decree of the Church; esp. a rule laid down by an ecclesiastical Council. the canon<\/strong> (collectively) = canon law n.<\/em><\/p>\n

…goes back to Old English, with citations from the 4th century. And OED sense 4<\/p>\n

The collection or list of books of the Bible accepted by the Christian Church as genuine and inspired.<\/p>\n

…has citations back to the 14th century. The earliest citation for the figurative extension (\"any set of sacred books; also, those writings of a secular author accepted as authentic\") is from the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1885:<\/p>\n

The dialogues forming part of the \u2018Platonic canon\u2019.<\/p>\n

…which is still long before the \"online fandom\" usage — but I'm guessing that there are earlier examples, certainly for the adjectival form canonical<\/em>, which long ago joined the online fandom and\u00a0Wiktionary's sense 10<\/a> in extending to the content of the canonical sources:<\/p>\n

(chiefly fandom slang, uncountable)<\/em> Those sources, especially including literary works, which are considered part of the main continuity regarding a given fictional universe; (metonymic)<\/em> these sources' content.<\/p>\n

I'm not sure whether that extension of canon<\/em> can be found in in the 18th century, but for canonical <\/em>the OED cites<\/p>\n

A poore mans speech is seldome pleasant, and wisedome vnder a ragged coate seldome canonicall. (Henry Crosse, Vertues common-wealth; or, The high-way to honour<\/em><\/a>, 1603.)<\/p>\n

And there's more canonical fun available, since other English descendants from the same botanical source include cannon<\/em><\/a>, canyon<\/em><\/a>, canal<\/em><\/a>, maybe can<\/em><\/a>, and of course cane<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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