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Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
From: bml@netcom.com (Brian Leibowitz)
Subject: Re: religious hysteria ca 1000 CE
Date: Sun, 12 Jun 1994 15:41:43 GMT

In article <1994Jun11.162808.24926@black.ox.ac.uk> tr95006@black.ox.ac.uk (Chris Owen) writes: >In article <2t9p4e$t0l@search01.news.aol.com> crank@aol.com (Crank) writes:
>>What is 1000 _CE_?
>
> Common Era. It's basically a PC way of saying "A.D." without offending Jews,
>Muslims, Hindus and other touchy religious groups. Hence you get the rather
>monstrous abbreviations "C.E." and "B.C.E" (Before the Common Era)...

Sorry to add a real reference to an AFU thead - here is the discussion of usage in the Chicago Manual of Style:

8.17 Eras
Figures are used for year numbers followed or preceded by era designations, and words are used for centuries. The abbreviations for eras are conventionally set in small caps. Note that the abbreviations beginning with _A_ (for _anno_, "the year") properly precede the year number, whereas others follow it. Among the most frequently used era designations are A.D. (_anno Domini_, "in the year of the Lord"); A.H. (_anno Hegirae_, "in the year of [Muhammad's] Hegira," or _anno Hebraico_, "in the Hebrew year"); A.U.C. (_anno urbis conditae_, "in the year of the building of the city" [i.e., Rome, in 753 B.C.]); B.C. ("before Christ"); C.E. and B.C.E. ("of the common era" and "before the common era" - equivalent to A.D and B.C.); and B.P. ("before the present").
...

Brian "and A.K. (_anno Kibo_)" Leibowitz