canon

1. A generally accepted principle; a rule. (countable, uncountable) · The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.
2. A formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art. (countable, uncountable) · the Canon of Polykleitos
3. A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field. (countable, uncountable)
4. The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic. (countable, uncountable) · the entire Shakespearean canon
5. A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon. (countable, uncountable)
6. A religious law or body of law decreed by the church. (countable, uncountable) · We must proceed according to canon law.
7. A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church. (countable, uncountable)
8. In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order. (countable, uncountable)

Plural canons