Canon vs. Cannon – How to Use Each Correctly
What’s the Difference Between Canon and Cannon?
Contents
Canon and cannon are homophones, which means that they have the exact same pronunciation but different spellings and definitions.
Canon is a noun that refers to the collection of rules and standards of a religion, field of study, literary or artistic topic, or authentic works of a specific author.
- It is canon that werewolves are affected by the full moon.
Cannon is also a noun. It is a type of weapon. Specifically, it is a type of mounted gun for shooting heavy projectiles.
- Cannons were in use during the civil war, and many cannon balls can still be found today.
Let’s look at a few ways to use these words in your sentences.
Using Canon in a Sentence
When to use canon: Canon refers to a set of rules established and enacted by an authority. Usually this appears in the context of religion or a group of fictional stories by an author. It shows that something is sacred and genuine within religion. Within literature, it shows that something is accepted as originating with the initial author, as opposed to fan fiction.
For example:
- The apocrypha is a set of 14 books that some scholars consider to be part of the Bible, but which the pope says is not canon.
- Many people like to write fan fiction about those two characters falling in love, but it’s not canon. It never happened in the original show.
Canon is also the brand name of a popular brand of camera.
Using Cannon in a Sentence
When to use cannon: A cannon is a type of artillery that fires large projectiles, typically cannonballs. They were likely invented in the thirteenth century and were an important weapon in many battles.
For example:
- The army was small and had few weapons, so they disguised several tree trunks as cannons to try to trick the enemy into believing their army was bigger and more powerful.
- The cannon could only fire one cannon ball each minute, since it took so long to load.
There are a couple of idioms that use the word cannon:
- loose cannon: a person who is highly unpredictable
- Don’t let Mike work on that project. He’s a skilled lawyer but a bit of a loose cannon. We can’t trust him to be polite and professional to the client.
- cannon fodder: troops in the most dangerous positions who will likely die in great numbers in order for other troops to gain a better advantage
- The soldiers were brave and took their position in the front line, despite knowing they would likely be cannon fodder.
Cannon comes from the Latin word for long tube, but was actually first invented in China.
Remembering Canon vs. Cannon
One way to remember the meanings for each of these words is to use their spellings as a mnemonic device.
Cannon is the longer of the two words. The fact that this word is long can remind you that cannon means a long gun.
Outside Examples
- The film, directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina, is one of the largest U.S. productions ever to feature a largely all-Latino cast. That makes “Coco” an anomaly in the Pixar canon but also in Hollywood. –Houston Chronicle
- While Runaways feels of a piece with the early 2000s WB fare, it stands in stark contrast with the rest of Marvel’s current TV lineup, making it a refreshing addition to the TV-superhero canon. –USA Today
- The three-day festival kicks off with the Parade of Sail from 4-7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8. The weekend will include cannon battles, tall ship tours, exhibitions, craft beer tasting, breakfast with a mermaid and more. –OC Register
- At issue is whether the city of Chicago failed to rein in Kelly — described in court Monday as a “loose-cannon, ticking-time-bomb police officer” — before a bullet from Kelly’s service weapon wound up in LaPorta’s head on Jan. 12, 2010. –Chicago Sun Times
Quiz: Canon vs. Cannon
Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct word, either canon or cannon.
- It doesn’t make sense for you to say that the army used ____________ in your work of historical fiction, since ___________ hadn’t yet been invented!
- Romeo and Juliet is part of Shakespeare’s ______________.
- Everyone accepts the use of garlic against vampires as ______________. The nonsense about them having sparkly skin is a recent invention that many disagree with.
- _____________ are effective in war but difficult to move from place to place due to their weight.
See answers below.
Article Summary
Should I use canon or cannon? Generally speaking, use canon when discussing accepted and authentic texts or information and cannon for a weapon of war.
- Canon means a set of accepted rules or writings agreed upon by authorities.
- Cannon means a long, tubular mounted gun which fires heavy projectiles.
Although these are homophones, it is important to spell them the right way because of their completely different definitions.
Answers from Quiz
- cannons, cannons
- canon
- canon
- Cannons