English → Latin
“canon” in Latin
normaa carpenter’s square; a norm, standard (rule, precept)lēxthe legal machinery of a state, the law; a law, statute, bill; the laws regarded as a body, the constitutiondēcernōto decide, decide upon, settle, determine (especially something disputed or doubtful); to pronounce a decision concernincanonicuscanonical; regular (obeying rules)
The English word canon itself goes back to Latin canonicus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
canon s.
norma; lex (rule); decretum: lex ecclesiastica; decretum canonicum: canon-law, jus canonicum; corpus juris canonici: the canonicai books, libri canonici (technical term): librorum fide dignorum familia (after Quint., 1, 4, 3).
A dignitary of the Church, canonicus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for canon?
- The usual Latin words for “canon” are norma, lēx, dēcernō; also canonicus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.