The position, status, or rank of being a canon, or the condition of belonging to a cathedral chapter.
Formed from 'canon' plus the Old English '-ship' suffix (state, condition, rank), a productive suffix seen in 'kingship,' 'friendship,' etc. Used interchangeably with 'canonry' from the 14th century onward.
The '-ship' suffix appears in status words across centuries—'kingship,' 'courtship,' 'penmanship'—all meaning the state or practice of being that thing, giving English a flexible system for turning nouns into ranks and conditions.
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