ad
1
[ ad ]
/ æd /
noun
advertising: an ad agency.
Origin of ad
1
First recorded in 1835–45; by shortening
Words nearby ad
Definition for ad (2 of 12)
ad
2
[ ad ]
/ æd /
noun Tennis.
ad in,
the advantage being scored by the server.
ad out,
the advantage being scored by the receiver.
Origin of ad
2
First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening
Definition for ad (3 of 12)
ad
3
[ ad ]
/ æd /
preposition
(in prescriptions) to; up to.
Origin of ad
3
From Latin
Definition for ad (4 of 12)
Definition for ad (5 of 12)
ad-
Origin of ad-
< Latin
ad, ad- (preposition and prefix) to, toward, at, about; cognate with
at1
Definition for ad (6 of 12)
a.d.
1
or A.D.
in the year of the Lord; since Christ was born: Charlemagne was born in a.d. 742.
Origin of a.d.
1
From the Latin word
annō Dominī
usage note for a.d.
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.
Definition for ad (7 of 12)
a.d.
2
before the day.
Origin of a.d.
2
From the Latin word
ante diem
Definition for ad (8 of 12)
a.d.
3
after date.
autograph document.
Definition for ad (9 of 12)
A.D.
active duty.
art director.
assembly district.
assistant director.
athletic director.
average deviation.
Definition for ad (10 of 12)
-ad
1
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.
Origin of -ad
1
Greek
-ad- (stem of
-as), specialization of feminine adjective-forming suffix, often used substantively
Definition for ad (11 of 12)
Definition for ad (12 of 12)
-ad
3
Anatomy, Zoology.
a suffix forming adverbs from nouns signifying parts of the body, denoting a direction toward that part: dextrad; dorsad; mediad.
Origin of -ad
3
From the Latin word
ad toward, anomalously suffixed to the noun; introduced as a suffix by Scottish anatomist John Barclay (1758–1826) in 1803
Example sentences from the Web for ad
British Dictionary definitions for ad (1 of 7)
British Dictionary definitions for ad (2 of 7)
British Dictionary definitions for ad (3 of 7)
ad
3
the internet domain name for
Andorra
British Dictionary definitions for ad (4 of 7)
AD
abbreviation for
(indicating years numbered from the supposed year of the birth of Christ)
anno Domini
70 ad Compare BC
military
active duty
military
air defence
Dame of the Order of Australia
Word Origin for AD
(sense 4) Latin: in the year of the Lord
usage for AD
In strict usage,
ad 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
ad preceding the date (
ad 1621), and it is also strictly correct to omit
in when
ad 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.
bc 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
British Dictionary definitions for ad (5 of 7)
ad-
prefix
to; towards
adsorb; adverb
near; next to
adrenal
Word Origin for ad-
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
British Dictionary definitions for ad (6 of 7)
-ad
1
suffix forming nouns
a group or unit (having so many parts or members)
triad
an epic poem concerning (the subject indicated by the stem)
Dunciad
Word Origin for -ad
via Latin from Greek
-ad- (plural
-ades), originally forming adjectives; names of epic poems are all formed on the model of the
Iliad
British Dictionary definitions for ad (7 of 7)
-ad
2
suffix forming adverbs
denoting direction towards a specified part in anatomical descriptions
cephalad
Word Origin for -ad
from Latin
ad to, towards
Medical definitions for ad (1 of 3)
AD
abbr.
auris dextra (right ear)
Medical definitions for ad (2 of 3)
ad-
pref.
Toward; to. Before c, f, g, k, l, p, q, s, and t, ad- is usually assimilated to ac-, af-, ag-, ac-, al-, ap-, ac-, as-, and at-, respectively:adductor, acclimation, agglutinant.
Near; at:adrenal.
Medical definitions for ad (3 of 3)
-ad
suff.
In the direction of; toward:cephalad.
Cultural definitions for ad
A.D.
An abbreviation used with a date, indicating how many years have passed since the birth of Jesus. The abbreviation may appear before the date (a.d. 1988), or it may appear after the date (1988 a.d.). It stands for anno Domini, a Latin phrase meaning “in the year of our Lord.” (Compare b.c.)