What is AD

by Yogi P - September 4, 2023

Understanding the AD Full Form

Do you know what AD stands for in the world of business? Well, it is actually the full form of the Latin term “Anno Domini” which simply means “in the year of our Lord.”

AD is a chronological system which was used to denote years in the same manner we use the Common Era. It is the foundation of the system we use now which counts years as before and after the birth of Christ (BC and AD). It was first introduced in 5th Century by Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk.

The Latin term AD is translated as “after death” and is used to count the years since the birth of Jesus, whereas the term BC that is “before Christ” is used to denote the years before Jesus’s birth. The AD full form acknowledge the birth of Jesus as the beginning point of a new era – Christian era

In modern time, AD or “Anno Domini” is commonly used in the written document to denote that a particular historical event occurred after the birth of Jesus. For example, the war of Troy took place in 1184 BC, but if we compare it in AD terms then it would be 3314 AD.

Similarly, when we refer to the modern era, i.e before 1999 we consider it as late 20th century, but in AD terms we call it the late 1900s.

So, to sum it up, the AD full form is “Anno Domini” and it is used to count the years after the birth of Jesus. It was first introduced in 5th century and has been the most important system to count years in multi-cultural societies.

The AD system is so widely accepted that even though originally it was meant to denote the Christian era the term is now used to refer to any event since Jesus’s birth no matter the religion of the person.