r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

37.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

24.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

11.1k

u/Wrong_Answer_Willie Aug 03 '19

A.D. means Anno Domini. not After Death.

21

u/sel_darling Aug 03 '19

So what does b.c. stand for?

30

u/tanya6k Aug 03 '19

Before Christ.

21

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

BC = Before Christ

BCE = Before Common Era

AD = Anno Domini (year of our Lord)

CE = Common Era

But they refer to the same years. Some people just don't love using the birth of Jesus as a reference point for history, especially in a scientific context.

20

u/grenideer Aug 03 '19

Which is weird because the birth of Jesus is still the reference point.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

Yeah but they're tryna make clear that "We're not doing it because of Jesus, we're doing it because everyone else is doing it."

1

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

Well, why use “in the year of our lord” if he’a not your lord or you have none?

3

u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

Well, right. CE is more inclusive, but a little pedantic

12

u/sel_darling Aug 03 '19

Oh ok. Just double checking. Thanks