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crab canon

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noun Music.
  1. a canon in which the imitating voice is the theme in retrograde motion.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for crab canon

crab canon

noun
  1. music a canon in which the imitating voice repeats the notes of the theme in reverse orderAlso called: retrograde canon, canon cancrizans
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Word Origin

from the mistaken medieval notion that crabs move backwards
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012