From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sic
is a
Latin
word meaning "thus", "so", "as such", or "in such a manner". In
writing
, it is put in square
brackets
and
italic type
? [
sic
] ? to show that any incorrect or unusual
spelling
,
phrases
,
punctuation
, or other quoted material have been copied
verbatim
(word for word) from its original source.
[1]
At first, it was said like the English word "seek" (
IPA
/'sik/); however, it is normally said like the English word "sick" (/'s?k/).
The word
sic
may be used to show that an uncommon or old usage is written faithfully: for instance, quoting the
U.S. Constitution
:
- "The House of Representatives shall chuse [
sic
] their Speaker..."
It is often used, though, to highlight an error, sometimes to ridicule, such as here in
The Times
:
- Warehouse has been around for 30 years and has 263 stores, suggesting a large fan base. The chain sums up its appeal thus: "styley [
sic
], confident, sexy, glamorous, edgy, clean and individual, with it's [
sic
] finger on the fashion pulse."
[2]
Sometimes,
sic
is said to be an
abbreviation
for "said in context", "spelled in context", "said in copy", and other phrases. While incorrect, this still gives the same meaning when used.