bc
- 1Initialism of Before Christ.
The Roman Republic lasted from 509 BC to 27 BC.
Most of the coins in the case date from the fourth century BC.
Note
The letters follow the year they mark, while AD traditionally comes before its year: 206 BC to AD 220. Because the years count backward, the larger number is the earlier date. The reckoning translates Latin ante Christum, and the French theologian Denis Pétau made it popular with De doctrina temporum in 1627.
- 2Abbreviation of because.
Running late bc the train is stuck outside the station.
Must be closed bc all the lights are off.
Note
Texting and online chat use it wherever because would go, whether it gives a cause (late bc the bus broke down) or the grounds for a guess (must be broken bc nothing happens). Some people write bcs instead. Keep it to messages and posts; in anything formal, spell out because.
- 3Initialism of British Columbia.
Vancouver is the largest city in BC.
The company has offices in Ontario and BC.
Note
It is said letter by letter and works just like the full name: in BC, BC's coast, a BC license plate. In an address it follows the city, as in Victoria, BC, the provincial capital, or Vancouver, BC, the largest city.
- 4Initialism of birth control.
She stopped taking BC when she and her husband decided to try for a baby.
The campus clinic offers free BC, from pills to implants.
Note
Most of the time it is a mass noun, and the everyday construction is on BC: she has been on BC for years. It can also be counted when methods are compared, as in a doctor weighing the BCs that suit different patients.
- 5Initialism of Boston College.
He earned his law degree at BC before joining a firm in New York.
The conference brought together researchers from Harvard, MIT, and BC.
- 6Initialism of Baja California.
Tijuana, the largest city in BC, sits right on the US border.
The trucking company runs warehouses in BC and Sonora.
Note
It names the state, not the whole peninsula: the peninsula is split between Baja California in the north and Baja California Sur below it, and only the first takes these letters. A Mexican address or setting is what separates it from the Canadian province written the same way.
- 7Initialism of borough council.
The developer appealed after the BC rejected its housing plans.
Under the new lease, the BC remains responsible for repairs to the building.
Note
Legal and official papers favor the short form, since one council is named again and again in notices, planning decisions and court filings. In British usage it follows the borough's name, as in Spelthorne BC, and it means the elected body as a whole.
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Origin
A calque (word-for-word translation) of Latin ante Christum, popularized by the 1627 publication of De doctrina temporum by the French theologian Denis Pétau.