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Glite Dictionary
🏺 Before Christ 😷 Before COVID
BC

BC

2.9
Placed after a year to show the year is before the birth of Christ
  • adverb
translation icon : a.C.
  • That's when we go from BC before Christ to AD.

That's when we go from BC before Christ to AD.

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Examples

  • Now this is well BC long before Christ and they're talking about maths in pictures.

  • The ancient city of Athens was founded in the 6th century BC.

  • The Roman Empire was at its peak in 100 BC, a time of great expansion.

  • Historians believe that many significant events occurred around 500 BC.

Synonyms

before Christ
vsBC
2 4.8

Placed after a year number to show the year is before the birth of Jesus Christ

uses letters as an abbreviation after the year number
BCE
vsBC
1 4.4

A label that comes after a year number to show the year is before the Common Era

uses a traditional religious label referencing the birth of Jesus
B.C.
vsBC
3.4

A mark after a year that shows the year is before the birth of Jesus

is written without periods between letters as the traditional form
B.C.E.
vsBC
5.2

A short form that shows years before the Common Era

uses the traditional religious label referring to Jesus's birth

Compounds

vitamin Bc
  • Archaic
3.5

A substance your body needs to make new cells, especially during pregnancy

Surface Forms

BC positive

Etymology

The word BC comes from the phrase Before Christ, which means 'before the birth of Jesus', so a date like 200 BC means 200 years before that date.