anno domini

November 5, 2009

(Latin, “year of our Lord”)

The Latin phrase Anno Domini designates the usage of a calendar system which counts years from the traditional date of the birth of Christ (i.e. “year of our Lord”). This calendar system is the most common and accepted method of dating in the world today, even being used by the United Nations. It is from the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Anno Domini system was devised by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in A.D. 525. Years before the birth of Christ are often abbreviated B.C. (”before Christ”). Most modern scholars would place the birth of Christ somewhere between 3 and 6 B.C. The designation A.D. is often mistakenly identified as having reference to Christ’s death (i.e. “After Death”). Modern usage has attempted to neutralize the centrality of the incarnation by substituting A.D. and B.C. with C.E. (”common era”) and B.C.E. (”before the common era”).

Posted in Latin Terms, D, A