canonical
/kəˈnɑ.nɪ.kəl/adjective, noun
canonical is spelled C-A-N-O-N-I-C-A-L. The wrong spelling people search most is cannonical: about 70 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 48 of all searches for the word. Canonical is an adjective meaning “Present in a canon, religious or otherwise”.
How many letters and syllables are in canonical?
| Letters | 9: C-A-N-O-N-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, cannonical, about 70 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell canonical?
Canonical is spelled C-A-N-O-N-I-C-A-L. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 48 of the searches for canonical in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is canonical?
Canonical appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce canonical?
- UK /kəˈnɒn.ɪ.kəl/
- UK [kəˈnɒn.ɪ.kɫ̩]
- US /kəˈnɑ.nɪ.kəl/
Canonical has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-canonical.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with canonical?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as canonical from its last stressed vowel (/ɑnɪkəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of canonical
- more canonical comparative
- most canonical superlative
- canonicals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does canonical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Present in a canon, religious or otherwise.
The Gospel of Luke is a canonical New Testament book.
- 2
According to recognised or orthodox rules.
The men played golf in the most canonical way, with no local rules.
- 3
Stated or used in the most basic and straightforwardly applicable manner.
the reduction of a linear substitution to its canonical form
- 4
Prototypical.
- 5
In conformity with canon law.
- 6
In the form of a canon.
- 7
Of or pertaining to an ecclesiastical chapter.
- 8
In canonical form.
noun
- 1
The formal robes of a priest.
- 2
A URL presented in canonical form.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate canonical?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of canonical: canon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Canonical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does canonical come from?
From Middle English canonycal, from Medieval Latin canōnicālis. By surface analysis, canon + -ical.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).