postcanon

English

Alternative forms

• post-canon

Etymology

From post- +‎ canon.

Adjective

postcanon (not comparable)

1. (religion) Postdating the development of a religious canon.

   Synonym: postcanonical

   Antonyms: precanonical, precanon

   • 1991, Zuckerman Bruce, Job the Silent: A Study in Historical Counterpoint‎, page 278:

     In these instances, one is dealing with essentially a postcanon phenomenon, where editors are trying to add commentary to the book of Job.

   • 1995, D. A. Carson, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14‎, page 69:

     In one recent review, for instance, a charismatic scholar rather acidly mocks the position of those who want to make a distinction between the way God dispenses his gifts before the completion of the inspired writings and after their completion, accusing them of forcing a dichotomy between a “precanon God” and a “postcanon God.”

   • 2001, Mary Ellen Snodgrass, Encyclopedia of World Religions‎, page 5:

     These postcanon works share two qualities: anonymous or pseudepigraphic authorship and unsubstantiated or obviously false connections to Jesus or his family, apostles, patriarchs, or prophets.

2. (chiefly fandom slang) Set or revealed after the canonical ending of a work of fiction.

   Antonym: precanon

   • 2017, Francesa Cappa, The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales or the Digital Age‎, page 174:

     This allows kaydee falls not only to give us a postcanon story—what happens to Amy and Rory after the episode?

   • 2022, Sarah Park Dahlen, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, “Introduction”, in Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Sarah Park Dahlen, editors, Harry Potter and the Other Race: Justice, and Difference in the Wizarding World‎, unnumbered page:

     Rowling began making postcanon remarks in interviews that diversified characters at the center of the narrative.

   • 2024, Jamie MacGregor, “"'This is all I ever wanted for You, Will. For both of us.' 'It's beautiful.': Hannibal Post-Canon Fics and Queer Futurity”, in Katlin Tonti, editor, Fix-It Fics: Challenging the Status Quo through Fan Fiction‎, page 116:

     At the time of writing, the most popular Hannibal fic, by a large margin, describes itself as "a post-canon Hannigram fix-it fic."