canon
/ˈkæn.ən/
"canon" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“canon” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,940. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #5,940
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A generally accepted principle; a rule.
Corpus desk
Index EN-canon · canon · English
canon · rank #5,940 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #5,940
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH bankruptcy
Nearest frequency peer: bankruptcy (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “canon”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- attraction
attraction
94,064 corpus weight
- babe
babe
94,063 corpus weight
- bankruptcy
bankruptcy
94,062 corpus weight
- canon
canon
94,061 corpus weight
- cared
cared
94,059 corpus weight
- Catherine
Catherine
94,058 corpus weight
What this shows “canon” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | canon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæn.ən/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #5,940 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “canon”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around canon (IPA /ˈkæn.ən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,940 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for canon, with forms such as "acnon", "canno", and "canonn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CNN", "con", "Cao", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English canoun, from Old French canon and Old English canon, both from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, standard”), akin to κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Semitic (compare Hebrew קָנֶה (qane, “reed”) and Arabic قَنَاة (… The correct English form is canon, spelled C-A-N-O-N.
Definition
- 1A generally accepted principle; a rule.
- 2A generally accepted principle; a rule.
- 3A group of literary works that are generally accepted as representing a field.
- 4The works of a writer that have been accepted as authentic.
- 5A eucharistic prayer, particularly the Roman Canon.
- 6A religious law or body of law decreed by the church.
- 7A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.
- 8In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.
- 9A piece of music in which the same melody is played by different voices, but beginning at different times; a round.
- 10A rent or stipend payable at some regular time, generally annual, e.g., canon frumentarius
- 11Those sources, especially including literary works, which are considered part of the main continuity regarding a given fictional universe; (metonymic) these sources' content.
- 12Alternative form of cannon (“rolled and filleted loin of meat”).
- 13A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
- 14The part of a bell by which it is suspended; the ear or shank of a bell.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how canon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The trial must proceed according to the canons of law.
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter.
Etymology
From Middle English canoun, from Old French canon and Old English canon, both from Latin canōn, from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, standard”), akin to κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Semitic (compare Hebrew קָנֶה (qane, “reed”) and Arabic قَنَاة (qanāh, “reed”)). Doublet of qanun. See also cane, cannon, canyon, canal.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- acnon
- canno
- canonn
- caonn
- ccanon
- cnaon
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of canon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "canon", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).