noun
calendar era; year numbering system
Technical term used in historical and chronological contexts to refer to the system by which years are counted and named within a calendar.
日本の紀年法には元号が使われている。
Japan's calendar era system uses era names.
西暦はキリスト紀元に基づく紀年法だ。
The Western calendar is a year numbering system based on the Christian era.
西暦 is the Western calendar or Anno Domini system, which is one example of a 紀年法.
Compound of 紀年 (kinnen, 'chronology' or 'era') and 法 (hō, 'method' or 'system'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is a modern technical coinage.