What Does BCE Mean?

When it comes to history, one of the biggest sources of confusion comes from the different ways that people name different eras in time. There are so many dates, and periods that all have different names, and remembering them all can become quite complex. Many people are familiar with the terms BC and AD, but what about BCE and CE? This article will take a closer look at what these terms all mean, and trying to make some sense of the confusion that often accompanies them.

BC or BC and AD

The most familiar of these terms, and the ones that have been used for hundreds of years are BC and AD. These are short for the Latin “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini”. Anno Domini, often abbreviated to the letter A.D., simply refers to the year of the Lord, or the year of the birth of Jesus. This means that if you are talking about something that happened before Jesus was born, or BC, then you follow up with the year that it happened in Roman numerals.

BCE and CE

However, more modern terms and more widely accepted terms for referring to events that happened before Jesus were born, or events that happened after, are the terms BCE and CE. BCE stands for “Before Common Era” and CE stands for “Common Era”. Many people find these terms to be more appropriate, since they do not reference any particular religious beliefs, and can be understood as referring to a more general timeline of events.

Making Sense of It All

In conclusion, it’s important to note that all of these terms are referring to the same timeline and the same events. They are simply different ways of framing it. BC and AD is the most traditional, while BCE and CE are more modern and more widely accepted. Understanding these terms and how they work will help to make sense of the confusion that can often accompany them.