Not initially gaping, small canopies (7)

I believe the answer is:

awnings

'canopies' is the definition.
(awning is a kind of canopy)

'not initially gaping small' is the wordplay.
'not initially' means to remove the first letter.
'gaping' becomes 'yawning' (synonyms).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'yawning' with its initial letter removed is 'awning'.
'awning'+'s'='AWNINGS'

(Another definition for awnings that I've seen is " Canopies for shelter".)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.

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