CE
- 1Initialism of Common Era.
The manuscript dates to roughly 450 CE.
Historians place the city's founding in the second century CE.
Note
The secular counterpart of AD, read as Common Era, numbering the same years of the Gregorian calendar. It follows the number it dates (1066 CE, 3–427 CE), and one label can cover a whole range, as in Nina Davis's Songs of Exile (1901): "from 800 to 1000 C.E." The spelling with periods appears alongside the plain one. Like other era markers, it is often set in small capitals.
- 2Initialism of Church of England.
Their daughter was offered a place at a CE secondary school.
The trust runs several CE schools across the county.
Note
A label you meet mostly in the names of church schools in England, as in a CE primary school. When people refer to the Church itself, C of E is the more common short form. CE therefore reads best as part of an official name, not as everyday shorthand. It also stands apart from the era label, which always follows a number.
- 3Initialism of continuing education.
Nurses must earn a set number of CE hours to renew their licenses.
The seminar counts toward her annual CE requirement.
Note
An uncountable CE: a person earns CE credits or CE hours, never "a CE." It mostly works as a modifier. That is because, for workers in certain occupations, continuing education is formalized, measured and required, which produces the vocabulary of a CE requirement or CE hours logged toward renewal.
- 4Initialism of civil engineer.
A CE reviewed the soil report before approving the foundation.
As a CE, he spends most of his week on construction sites.
Note
A countable noun for a person, so it takes an article and a plural: a CE, two CEs. The same letters also stand for a computer engineer. Where both professions are in the room, as on a mixed engineering team or in a job posting, spelling out the full title avoids a misreading.
- 5Initialism of computer engineer.
A CE designed the circuit board for the new sensor.
He trained as a CE before moving into software.
- 6Initialism of Canadian English.
The style guide lists pronunciation features typical of CE.
Many words in CE follow British rather than American spelling.
Note
The initialism belongs to writing about the variety. In conversation, the informal names are simply Canadian or even Canajan. Because CE is a name here, it takes no article: you write features of CE, not features of the CE. That sets it apart from the countable professional senses.
- 7Initialism of Common Entrance.
Her tutor prepared her for the CE in Latin and math.
A strong result in the CE secured his place at the school.
Note
An education term that names a particular examination, the Common Entrance, so it usually takes the definite article. A pupil sits the CE or prepares for the CE. Within education it can be confused with continuing education, which is adult learning. The article is a useful clue: the CE is the exam, while CE without it usually means the ongoing study.
- 8The chemical symbol for the element cerium.
In the lanthanide row, Ce sits between lanthanum and praseodymium.
The X-ray analysis detected traces of Ce in the rock sample.
Note
Chemistry fixes the shape of these letters: a capital C, a lowercase e, and no period. Set in capitals, the pair turns into the label that follows a year, the Common Era, so the small e is what separates an element from a date. Inside a chemical formula the symbol stands for one atom of cerium, and aloud it is simply read as cerium.
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