How is the word "canon" or "canonical" is used?

Question

I was in a debate with a stranger about greek mythology, and at one point, he said something that wasn't part of the lore, so I explained to him that it wasn't, and somehow used the word "canon" or "canonical" in the sentence. Then, he looked at me weird and exclaimed that we weren't talking about the bible, as an effort to make me look idiotic. My response was that I meant to use the word "canon" with the meaning of "belonging to a story", as in "Eventhough sirens were greek icons, mermaids were not considered canon" (I'm out of examples people, bare with me.)

I've always heard the word "canon" and/or "canonical" being used for almost all types of stories wether it be a comic book or a religous bible. Did I inappropriately misuse the word "canon" by referring to a non-biblical subject?

Answer 1

I think "canon" originally was used in reference to biblical stories, but that meaning as been broadened to mean the official characters/stories/settings/etc of any work of fiction. Fans use "canon" or "canonical" when referring to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whatever. So no, you weren't wrong in your usage of it, and if that person was trying to make you look stupid, they made themselves look ignorant.

Answer 2

Basically you are both wrong, and everybody who uses these meaning about canon. The word canon derives from the word κανών (today κανόνας), which meant straight stick-ruler and in modern greek means rule. Ancient geometry mathematicians considered at some point of time that proofs should be given using the κανόνας and the διαβήτης (diabetes!), meaning the ruler and the compass. Later on, with the Christian religion having spread in the Byzantine times, the word was used metaphorically, to denote something that was used as a guide, an example for others to follow. So the Canon books were the Accepted as True and Exemplary books of church. Then the word gained an additional meaning, the one of a set of odes chanted during certain ceremonies.
If you had to use it today, you would use it with the meaning of a story contained in some recognized as valid books/related to defined versions of legends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon

Answer 3

Nope. It looks like you were right although so was he in a way. It is usually used to mean something belonging to a religious set of beliefs but it has other definitions that would work with how you used it:

can·on1 /ˈkænən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kan-uhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.
2. the body of ecclesiastical law.
3. the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art: the neoclassical canon.
4. a fundamental principle or general rule: the canons of good behavior.
5. a standard; criterion: the canons of taste.
6. the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired.
7. any officially recognized set of sacred books.
8. any comprehensive list of books within a field.
9. the works of an author that have been accepted as authentic: There are 37 plays in the Shakespeare canon. Compare apocrypha (def. 3).
10. a catalog or list, as of the saints acknowledged by the Church.
11. Liturgy. the part of the Mass between the Sanctus and the Communion.
12. Eastern Church. a liturgical sequence sung at matins, usually consisting of nine odes arranged in a fixed pattern.
13. Music. consistent, note-for-note imitation of one melodic line by another, in which the second line starts after the first.
14. Printing. a 48-point type.

Answer 4

Brilliant joke 10/10