Meanings
alternative B.C.E.
- abbreviationinitialismnot comparablechronologyInitialism of Before the Common Era, Before the Current Era, or Before the Christian Era.
Socrates was tried and executed in the year 399 BCE.
3 more examples
We now know that circa 1600 BCE, the angara were created and seeded across Heleus by the Jardaan. Records of this process are less substantial than ancient angaran history, but it was apparently in service of a grand experiment.
2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Angara: History Codex entryThe earliest reliable accounts of Chinese eclipses come from Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch’un-ch’iu), recording eclipses from 772 to 481 BCE, including a total solar eclipse in 709 BCE.
2017, Mark Littmann, Fred Espenak, “Ancient Efforts to Understand”, in Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 38The ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the forebears of the Lycians, the Trm̃mili, "sprang originally from Crete", though modern-day scholars believe they were an Anatolian people who became Hellenised after Alexander the Great seized the region from the Persians in 333 BCE. […] Formed in the 2nd Century BCE and composed of 23 city-states, the Lycian League was the world's first democratic union, a model of a strong confederacy based on popular and proportional representation.
2023 September 7, Alastair Gill, “The ancient civilisation that inspired US democracy”, in BBC Travel, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2023Synonyms: BC
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adverbof the period before the Common Era; preferred by some writers who are not Christians
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian пр.н.е.
- пр.н.е. (pr.n.e.)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Chinese Mandarin 公元前
- 公元前 (gōngyuán qián)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Czech př. n. l. (před naším letopočtem)
- př. n. l. (před naším letopočtem)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Danish f.v.t. (før vor tidsregning)
- f.v.t. (før vor tidsregning)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Dutch onze jaartelling, gewone tijdrekening
- onze jaartellingsecularized form of BC — see also BC
- gewone tijdrekeningsecularized form of BC — see also BC
Finnish eaa.
- eaa.secularized form of BC — see also BC
French av. n. è. (avant notre ère), AEC
- av. n. è. (avant notre ère)secularized form of BC — see also BC
- AECsecularized form of BC — see also BC
- AÈCsecularized form of BC — see also BC
- av. è. c. (avant l'ère commune)secularized form of BC — see also BC
German v. u. Z. (vor unserer Zeitrechnung), v. d. Z. (vor der Zeitrechnung/vor der Zeitenwende)
- v. u. Z. (vor unserer Zeitrechnung)secularized form of BC — see also BC
- v. d. Z. (vor der Zeitrechnung/vor der Zeitenwende)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Greek π.Κ.Ε.
- π.Κ.Ε. (p.K.E.)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Hungarian i. e. (időszámításunk előtt)
- i. e. (időszámításunk előtt)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Korean 기원전
- 기원전 (giwonjeon)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Latin ante aer. vulg., ante aer. comm.
- ante aer. vulg.secularized form of BC — see also BC
- ante aer. comm.secularized form of BC — see also BC
Lithuanian pr. m. e. (rieš mūsų erą)
- pr. m. e. (rieš mūsų erą)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Polish p.n.e. (przed naszą erą)
- p.n.e. (przed naszą erą)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Romanian î.e.n. (înainte de eră noastră)
- î.e.n. (înainte de eră noastră)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Russian до н. э., до на́шей э́ры
- до н. э.secularized form of BC — see also BC
- до на́шей э́ры (do nášej éry)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Slovak pred n. l., p.n.l. (pred naším letopočtom)
- pred n. l.secularized form of BC — see also BC
- p.n.l. (pred naším letopočtom)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Spanish antes de la era común
- antes de la era comúnsecularized form of BC — see also BC
Swedish f.v.t., fvt (före vår tideräkning)
- f.v.t.secularized form of BC — see also BC
- fvt (före vår tideräkning)secularized form of BC — see also BC
Ukrainian до н. е.
- до н. е.secularized form of BC — see also BC
Vietnamese TCN
- TCNsecularized form of BC — see also BC
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
BCE. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BCE
“BCE.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BCE. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “BCE,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/BCE.
Source: BCE on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.