A.D.

1.
active duty.
2.
art director.
3.
assembly district.
4.
assistant director.
5.
athletic director.
6.
average deviation.

a.d.1

1.
in the year of the Lord; since Christ was born:
Charlemagne was born in a.d. 742.
Also, A.D.
Origin
< Latin annō Dominī
Usage note
Because anno Domini means “in the year of the Lord,” its abbreviation a.d. was originally placed before rather than after a date: The Roman conquest of Britain began in a.d. 43 (or began a.d. 43). In edited writing, it is still usually placed before the date. But, by analogy with the position of b.c. “before Christ,” which always appears after a date (Caesar was assassinated in 44 b.c.), a.d. is also frequently found after the date in all types of writing, including historical works: The Roman emperor Claudius I lived from 10 b.c. to 54 a.d. Despite its literal meaning, a.d. is also used to designate centuries, being placed after the specified century: the second century a.d.

a.d.2

1.
before the day.
Origin
< Latin ante diem

a.d.3

1.
after date.
2.
autograph document.
Word Origin and History for a.d

A.D.

1570s, from Latin Anno Domini "Year of the Lord." First put forth by Dionysius Exiguus in 527 or 533 C.E., but at first used only for Church business. Introduced in Italy in 7c., France (partially) in 8c. In England, first found in a charter of 680 C.E. Ordained for all ecclesiastical documents in England by the Council of Chelsea, July 27, 816.

The resistance to it in part might have come because Dionysius chose 754 A.U.C. as the birth year of Jesus, while many early Christians would have thought it was 750 A.U.C. [See John J. Bond, "Handy-Book of Rules and Tables for Verifying Dates With the Christian Era," 4th ed., London: George Bell & Sons, 1889] A.C., for Anno Christi, also was common 17c.

a.d in Culture

A.D. definition


An abbreviation used with a date, indicating how many years have passed since the birth of Jesus. The abbreviation may appear before the date (a.d. 1988), or it may appear after the date (1988 a.d.). It stands for anno Domini, a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of our Lord.” (Compare b.c.)

Related Abbreviations for a.d

a.d.

  1. after date
  2. Latin ante diem (before the day)
  3. autograph document

A.D.

  1. Latin anno Domini (in the year of our Lord)
  2. Latin auris dexter (right ear)