what dus (sic) the word sic mean?

[piofenton]

I know the word sic is often used in newspapers when things are being transcrined and it indicates a spelling error or grammatical (sic) error, but what does the word stand for??

 

[PennyB]

According to dictionary.com it means:
"Thus; so. Used to indicate that a quoted passage, especially one containing an error or unconventional spelling, has been retained in its original form or written intentionally."

 

[SF0751]

From Wikipedia:

(sic) (Latin for "thus") is a bracketed expression used to indicate that an unusual spelling, phrase, or any other preceding quoted material is intended to be read or printed exactly as shown (rather than being an error) and should not be corrected. When found in a French document, (sic) stands for "Sans Intention Comique" (without comic intention) meaning that even if the preceding text could be understood as funny, it was not meant to be.


Susan
"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

 

[flapeyre]

I once posted a note on my office door when I left work early due to a bad cold:

"Not Here Today - I am il (sic)."

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.

 

[SkipVought]

I M (sic) and tired of literary shortcuts!

Skip,
[sub]
[red]Be advised:[/red] When transmitting sheet music...
If it ain't baroque, don't fax it! [/sub]

 

[Zathras]

Sic Transit Gloria Thursday.

(Trans: The bus broke down and she had to walk today.)

 

[ESquared]

il?

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[chessbot]

ill --> sick

--Chessbot

 

[AnotherHiggins]

E[sup]2[/sup],

I assume you're talking about flapeyre's last post? "Il", mispelling of "ill." (sic) because it was mispelled, and it acts as a parenthetical statement when pronounced as "sick"!

John

Every generalization is false, including this one.

 

[ESquared]

Oh, I understood the ill part, and the sick part, but I was wondering if there was an added dimension where 'il' meant something in and of itself besides ill.

For example, il is Italian for the.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[strongm]

The joke doesn't work if 'ill' isn't misspelled; that's all the meaning required.

 

[ESquared]

Okay. Maybe I was thrown off by the fact that one can't normally use 'sic' unless quoting someone else's mistake. It seemed too contrived, so I looked for deeper meaning.

Hehe.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[jsteph]

my 2 cents...I'd always heard sic was:
'spelled in context'
...meaning the mispelling of the word was not a mistake, but spelled as it was 'in context' with whatever document or whatever from which it was quoted.

 

[ESquared]

Right... someone else's mistake, not MY mistake.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[AnotherHiggins]

jsteph,

That was probably meant as a mnemonic. As has been stated previously in this thread, it is Latin for 'so' or 'thus'.



John

Every generalization is false, including this one.