Canon
what it means
The dividing line all fandom vocabulary is built around. Canon is what happened on screen or on the page; everything else is headcanon or fanon.
What's officially established in the source material, as opposed to fan interpretation.
the origin story
Borrowed from religious and literary scholarship; applied to fandom from Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts in the early 20th century onward.
The Sherlock Holmes fandom is generally credited with the first fannish use, distinguishing Conan Doyle's stories from later imitations. The concept became essential once franchises grew large enough for official and unofficial material to blur.
in the wild
Is that actually established?
It's canon. Season two, episode six.
I thought they were related.
That's fanon. Never confirmed.
how to use it
- Distinguishing official material from fan interpretation
- Fandom and media conversations
- Discussing franchise continuity
- In its religious or literary-scholarship senses without clarifying
- Professionally without context
- As a way to shut down interpretation entirely
related terms
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