Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

View synonyms for ad

an ad agency.
a suffix occurring in loanwords from Greek denoting a group or unit comprising a certain number, sometimes of years: dyad; triad .
a suffix meaning “derived from,” “related to,” “concerned with,” “associated with” ( oread ), introduced in loanwords from Greek ( Olympiad; oread ), used sporadically in imitation of Greek models, as Dunciad , after Iliad .
in the year of the Lord; since Christ was born:
Charlemagne was born in a.d. 742.
ad in, the advantage being scored by the server.
ad out, the advantage being scored by the receiver.
(in prescriptions) to; up to.
Anatomy, Zoology. a suffix forming adverbs from nouns signifying parts of the body, denoting a direction toward that part: dextrad; dorsad; mediad .
a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “toward” and indicated direction, tendency, or addition: adjoin . Usually assimilated to the following consonant; a- 5,
ac-,
af-,
ag-,
al-,
an- 2,
ap- 1,
ar-,
as-,
at-.
indicating years numbered from the supposed year of the birth of Christ
anno Domini
Compare BC
70 ad
Dame of the Order of Australia
adrenal
a group or unit (having so many parts or members)
triad
an epic poem concerning (the subject indicated by the stem)
Dunciad
denoting direction towards a specified part in anatomical descriptions
cephalad

the internet domain name for

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Usage Note

Because

anno Domini

means “in the year of the Lord,” its abbreviation a.d. was originally placed before rather than after a date:

The Roman conquest of Britain began in a.d. 43 (or began a.d. 43).

In edited writing, it is still usually placed before the date. But, by analogy with the position of b.c. “before Christ,” which always appears after a date ( Caesar was assassinated in 44 b.c. ), a.d. is also frequently found after the date in all types of writing, including historical works:

The Roman emperor Claudius I lived from 10 b.c. to 54 a.d.

Despite its literal meaning, a.d. is also used to designate centuries, being placed after the specified century:

the second century a.d.

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Usage

In strict usage,

is only employed with specific years: he died in 1621 ad , but he died in the 17th century (and not the 17th century ad ). Formerly the practice was to write

preceding the date ( ad 1621 ), and it is also strictly correct to omit in when

is used, since this is already contained in the meaning of the Latin anno Domini (in the year of Our Lord), but this is no longer general practice.

is used with both specific dates and indications of the period: Heraclitus was born about 540 bc ; the battle took place in the 4th century bc

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ad1

First recorded in

1795–1800;

by shortening

Origin of ad2

Greek -ad- (stem of -as ), specialization of feminine adjective-forming suffix, often used substantively

Origin of ad3

From Latin annō Dominī

Origin of ad4

First recorded in

1915–20;

by shortening

Origin of ad5

From Latin ante diem

Origin of ad7

From the Latin word ad toward, anomalously suffixed to the noun; introduced as a suffix by Scottish anatomist John Barclay (1758–1826) in 1803

Origin of ad8

< Latin ad, ad- (preposition and prefix) to, toward, at, about; cognate with at 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ad1

(sense 4) Latin: in the year of the Lord

Origin of ad2

from Latin: to, towards. As a prefix in words of Latin origin, ad- became ac-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, acq-, ar-, as-, and at- before c, f, g, l, n, q, r, s, and t, and became a- before gn, sc, sp, st

Origin of ad3

via Latin from Greek -ad- (plural -ades ), originally forming adjectives; names of epic poems are all formed on the model of the Iliad

Origin of ad4

from Latin ad to, towards