Why is B.C. (Before Christ) in English, but A.D. (anno domini) in Latin?

There are some posts explaining the shift from BC/AD to BCE/CE, but my question is with the BC/AD terms: why is the former, older, time period in English while the latter, later period is in Latin?

Solution 1:

Perhaps because the Latin ante Christum natum is longer. Literally "before Christ born".

Edit: And probably due to influence of the Church. Dates with A.D. were more frequent. The time before the birth of Christ was not so interesting for the men of the Church. And if they spoke of the creation of the world or of other events of the Old Testament they had no exact dates.

Solution 2:

The Sydney [New South Wales] Morning Herald posted this letter to the editor under the title "Why do we use the Latin AD, but the English BC?" in its issue of May 7, 2005:

AD is an abbreviation of anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, Latin for "in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ". The era we now call BC used to be known as "a.C.n.", an abbreviation of "Ante Christum Natum", which is Latin for "before the birth of Christ".

Why the terminology changed from Latin to English is a matter of speculation. In non-English speaking countries, they tended to use the local language: in French, "avant J.C." (before Jesus Christ); in German, "v. Chr. Geb.", an abbreviation of "vor Christi Geburt" (before Christ's birth).

As with most things these days there is also a politically correct version of AD and BC. The years we know of as AD are now to be known as CE, "Common Era", and the years we know of as BC are to be known as BCE, "Before Common Era". How a mere change of abbreviation can be deemed politically correct, when the underlying concept of a time-system based on a minority religion remains the same, is anybody's guess!

Paul Dodd, Docklands, Victoria

It came in response to the question "Why do we use the Latin AD (anno Domini), but the English BC (before Christ). What do non-English speaking countries call BC?"