Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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“Cannions, boot hose tops; an old-fashioned ornament for the legs.” That is to say, a particular addition to breeches.
Elizabethan Tight knee breeches
http://www.cwu.edu/~robinsos/ppages/resources/Costume_History/elizabethan.htm
Images http://www.costumes.org/history/quicherat/Gentilhommealamode.JPG
Canon the second “n” can get you shot or in trouble with spiritual types:
another ref by Pepys :
pl. Ornamental rolls, sometimes indented, sometimes plain or straight, laid like sausages round the ends of the legs of breeches.
1583 STUBBES …………..
1660 PEPYS Diary 24 May, Made myself as fine as I could, with the linning stockings on and wide canons.
more snippets from the OED:
canon canion canon[In form canion, a. Sp. cañon tube, pipe, gun-barrel, ‘the cannions of breeches’ (= F. canon, It. cannone), augmentative of caña, It. canna tube: see CANNON. The F. form canon was also used in the same sense.]
[In 16th c. also canon, Sc. cannoun, a. F. canon (14th c. in Littré) = Pr. canon, Cat. canó, Sp. cañon, It. cannone, lit. ‘great tube, barrel’, augm. f. canna, canne CANE, reed, pipe, tube. The spellings canon and cannon occur side by side down nearly to 1800, though the latter is the more frequent after c 1660.]
1. A tube, a cylindrical bore. Obs. 1588 LUCAR
2. a. A piece of ordnance; a gun or fire-arm of a size which requires it to be mounted for firing. (The leading current sense.)
etc:
[then Canon dealing with many aspects of religious Laws and those that deal in same.]
4. A smooth round bit. Also cannon-bit.
5. The part of a bell by which it is suspended; also called the ear.
not to be confused with Canon [Found in OE. as canon, a. L. canon rule, a. Gr word: rule. Early ME. had nun, noun, a. OF. canun, canon, the Fr. descendant of the L. Senses 12-14 are of obscure origin; some or all may belong to CANNON, in F. spelt canon.]
1. a. A rule, law, or decree of the Church; esp. a rule laid down by an ecclesiastical Council. the canon (collectively) = canon law: see b.
The Canons, in Ch. of Engl. = ‘The Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical’ agreed upon by Convocation, and ratified by King James I under the Great Seal in 1603. ….. 890 ……
1658 BRAMHALL Consecr. Bps. vii. 171 The Papall Canons were never admitted for binding Lawes in England.
Can(i)ons
See Archive for May 24, 1660
