canonical

/kəˈnɒn ɪ kəl/

adjective

1 according to recognized or orthodox rules. 2 stated or used in the most basic and straightforwardly applicable manner. 3 prototypical.

Mark believed that the courtship of women should proceed in a formal, almost canonical way. That is, after all, how he won the affections of his wife. But his sons did not warm to the chivalrous lessons Mark tried to instill in them as they were growing up. No, Mark’s sons chose to adopt the “college fraternity” style of wooing. Alcohol weakened inhibitions, and a stubborn insistence was their go to lady-slaying technique.

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