The abbreviation A.D. stands
for the Latin anno Domini (“in the year of our
lord”). It is used for years after 1 on our calendar. In practice,
it is only used for years before about A.D.
1000 and to clarify potential ambiguities. It comes before the designated
year.
We at SparkNotes prefer to use small capital letters
and periods, but you may choose to use uppercase letters for simplicity
and/or omit the periods.
• St. Augustine, the author of the Confessions,
was born in A.D. 354.
Because not all people believe that the phrase our
lord is appropriate, some writers prefer to use the abbreviation C.E.,
which stands for
common era and comes after the designated year.
• St. Augustine was born in 354 C.E.
