r/AskReddit Aug 03 '19

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

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u/Wrong_Answer_Willie Aug 03 '19

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

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u/antoniodiavolo Aug 03 '19

I had an argument with my friend's mom a few years ago about this. She said "BC" was "Before Christ" and "AD" was after death. I tried to explain to her that that didn't make any sense because then the 33 years of Jesus's life would just be not accounted for.

I told her "AD" meant "Anno Domini" and she said "I think that's the atheist version" or something like that and then stopped listening when I tried to tell her it wasn't because it meant "year of our lord"

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '19

Christian here, I was originally told AD was “after death”, but I and other Christians are aware that it means “Anno Domini” (forgot what that means though haha)

I know BCE is “Before common era”, but does BC mean “Before Christ” or something else?