Cannon Meaning
/ˈkæn.ən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar, which may include muzzle appendages.
nounAny similar device for shooting material out of a tube.
Sentence Examples
The cannon went off by accident.
Never use a cannon to kill a fly.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The soldiers fired the ____ at the enemy castle walls during the siege.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient ____ was displayed in the middle of the city park today.
Word Origin & History
Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na) (for more, see cane). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The pauldrons are rather weak, but the cannons of the vambraces are good and come from an Italian armour of considerably earlier date, for they have the tulip form of the first half of the century."
— 1949, The Connoisseur:
"During the second half of the century the upper cannons were often joined to the pauldrons […] Here the cannons and the couter, although separate, are joined together when worn by the points securing them to the arming […]"
— 1972, Claude Blair, European Armour: Circa 1066 to Circa 1700:
"The breastplate was now usually globular in shape with attached tassets. The arm defenses were almost always in one piece, the lower and upper cannons joined permanently to the couter with internal leathers and rivets, and the whole frequently also joined permanently to the pauldron."
— 2007, Kelly DeVries, Robert Douglas Smith, Medieval Weapons: An Illustrated History of Their Impact, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 178:
"I also learned never to conspicuoulsy^([sic]) watch a cannon while he was working. Pickpockets dislike being watched, even by those who may be "right," because they become uneasy and clumsy and feel conspicuous."
— 1977, Robert S. Weppner, Street ethnography, page 70:
"A good pickpocket is known to his fellows as a pistol. Rufus Dayne is a cannon. One of the best pickpockets in the country, he makes close to a million dollars a year and has no criminal record at all."
— 2009, James Thomson, Bedlam City: Savage Worlds Edition, page 377:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The soldiers fired the ____ at the enemy castle walls during the siege.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient ____ was displayed in the middle of the city park today.