BC

See also: bc, b.c., b/c, and B.C.

English

Alternative forms

• B.C., b.c., bc

Adverb

BC (not comparable)

1. Initialism of Before Christ.

   The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220.

Usage notes

• The Chicago Manual of Style as well as most house styles require placing the AD before the number of the year and BC after, although in casual use either abbreviation can be found in either place.
• Some use BCE, for "Before the Common Era", which is more secular in nature, to avoid potential Christian bias.
• Often written in small caps.

Synonyms

• BCE

Antonyms

• a.d., AD, A.D. (anno Domini, Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord); CE (Christian Era, Common Era, Current Era)

Translations

before Christ

• Arabic: ق. م.‎ (q. m.), قَبْلَ الْمِيلَاد‎ (qabla l-mīlād) (formally)
• Asturian: edC
• Bulgarian: пр. Хр. (pr. Hr.) (predi Christa)
• Catalan: aC (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 公元前 (gung¹ jyun⁴ cin⁴), 主前 (zyu² cin⁴) (Christian)

  Mandarin: 公元前 (zh) (gōngyuánqián), 主前 (zhǔqián) (Christian)

• Danish: f.Kr.
• Dutch: v. Chr. (voor Christus)
• Esperanto: a.K. (eo) (antaŭ Kristo)
• Finnish: eKr. (fi) (ennen Kristusta / ennen Kristuksen syntymää)
• French: av. J.-C. (fr), av. JC (avant Jésus-Christ)
• Georgian: ძვ. წ. (ka) (ʒv. c̣.)
• German: v. Chr. (de) (vor Christus, vor Christo)
• Greek: π.Χ. (el) (p.Ch.) (προ Χριστού (pro Christoú))
• Hebrew: לפנה״ס‎ (he)
• Hindi: ई॰पू॰ (ī.pū.), ई.पू. (ī.pū.) (ईसा पूर्व (īsā pūrva))
• Hungarian: Kr. e. (hu) (Krisztus előtt)
• Icelandic: f.Kr. (is) (fyrir Krist)
• Italian: a.C. (avanti Cristo)

• Japanese: 紀元前 (ja) (きげんぜん, kigenzen)
• Latin: a.C. (la) (ante Christum); [older] a.Chr.n. / a.C.n. (ante Christum natum)
• Malay: SM (Sebelum Masihi)
• Maltese: Q.K. (Qabel Kristu)
• Navajo: Doodaatsaahii tʼah bítséedi
• Ngazidja Comorian: kaɓla wakati rilio nuwo (kabla wakati rilio nuwo)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: f.Kr. (no) (før Kristi fødsel)

  Nynorsk: f.Kr.

• Polish: przed Chr. (pl) (przed Chrystusem); [obsolete] p.n.Chr. (przed narodzeniem Chrystusa)
• Portuguese: a.C. (pt), A.C. (antes de Cristo)
• Romanian: î.Hr. (ro) (înainte de Hristos)
• Russian: до Р. Хр. (do R. Xr.) (до Рождества́ Христо́ва)
• Spanish: a. de J.C. (antes de Jesucristo), a.C. (antes de Cristo)
• Swedish: f.Kr. (sv) (före Kristus)
• Tagalog: U.K. (Una kay Kristo)
• Turkish: MÖ (tr) (Milattan önce)
• Urdu: قبل از مسیح‎

Proper noun

BC

1. British Columbia, a Canadian province.
2. Baja California, a Mexican state.
3. Initialism of Boston College.

Usage notes

• (British Columbia): "B.C." is the customary abbreviation of British Columbia as used in case citations; see e.g. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, Nineteenth Edition (2010), "Geographical Terms: Australian states and Canadian provinces and territories", Table T10.2, page 438.

Derived terms

• BCer

Noun

BC (countable and uncountable, plural BCs)

1. birth control
2. (chemistry) Initialism of benzalkonium chloride.
3. (US, navy) battlecruiser, a type of warship.
4. (computer science) Initialism of backward compatibility.

Anagrams

• C.B., CB, CνB, c&b

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Portuguese

Proper noun

BC m

1. Initialism of Banco Central.

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Romanian

Proper noun

BC

1. Abbreviation of Bacău, a county in Romania.