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Samm [sic] asks “What does [sic] mean?”
Sic in square brackets is an editing term used with quotations or excerpts. It means “that’s really how it appears in the original.”
It is used to point out a grammatical error, misspelling, misstatement of fact, or, as above, the unconventional spelling of a name.
For example, you might want to quote the printed introduction to a college catalog:
Maple Leaf College is well-known for it’s [sic] high academic standards.
Sic is the Latin word for “thus,” or “such.”
When John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln and jumped from the balcony to the stage of Ford’s Theatre, he is said to have shouted “Sic semper tyrannis!” He meant “that’s what tyrants get;” literally, “Thus always to tyrants.”
Another common Latin expression you might come across is sic transit gloria mundi. It means “thus passes the glory of the world.” It’s a thought that might occur as one stands by a crumbling pyramid or where the Twin Towers once stood in New York City.
Where I grew up, people who wanted a dog to attack said “sic ‘em!” I’ve seen it in a dictionary spelled “sick,” as in “sick him!” This use is first recorded in 1845 and may come from a dialectal version of seek, “to look for” or “to pursue.”
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85 Responses to “What Does [sic] Mean?”
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Pity that Samm [sic] didn’t feel it appropriate to close his quotation marks in his opening line.
I have always wondered. Thanks.
I always thought it was an abbreviation for “Spelling Is Correct.”
I’m also an idiot.
Eric,
No, but you ARE a creative thinker!
We use this quite a bit when working on academic papers. Often, the client will be quoting a source that has a grammatical or spelling problem. We use [sic] to indicate that the error is in the original source, not in the client’s ability to quote the source accurately.
Just came across this example in a BBC story online.
—In a web posting they added: “no doubt that our attacks can be significantly improved, since we used relatively unexpensive equipments [sic].” —- The writers wanted to show that they know it should be “inexpensive equipment.” The person being quoted is not a native speaker.
I think I read on this site that someone believed “sic” to stand for “said in context”. That’s how I’ve always remembered it, even if it’s not a direct translation, the point remains.
Hey Eric…I thought the same thing. “Spelling Is Correct” just makes more sense, huh?
Oh, really. Good to know. For some reason, I thought the same thing as Eric and Jeff. I even took Latin for 4 years in high school, I should have known better…
I had previously thought it was an acronym for “Spelled InCorrectly”. Hah. I guess I never thought about that one.
I always wondered what this meant, I always see it in Anne Rule’s books and have asked several people what it means and no one seems to know. Then I got the brilliant idea to google it! Thanks people
I had always assumed it was an acronym as well. Something like “Sentence in context” or “Statement in context.” Meaning that in the original context of the article, the errors and omissions of the quotation make sense. With whoever is writing the article adding in things like [T]his and [A. Nonymous, 1987] into the quote make it more readable.
Hi, I’m new and thank you for your very informative column. I’ve already learned so much.
I too, always wondered what [sic] means, and now you’ve cleared it up for me. I love the, “said in context” explannation, I’ll keep that in mind. love your column and thank you!
Thank you for this…I have been seeing this a lot on the web lately and wondered what it meant. I have even used the word “sic em, Sam” before without ever knowing where it came from.
Sara
Nice post! Not to put too fine a point on it, but “sic” is italicized (though the brackets are not).
Reading a news article about an interview with Dick Cheney brought me here. He called Osama bin Laden “Obama” {sic.}
Had to know what it meant. Thanks.
I always thought that “Sic em” meant “Stick it to them”.
What about “ad hoc”? I, too, see that used in articles but have no idea what it means.
the right phrase often comes in handy in sticky situations…….
To CC, ad hoc is a networking term where you share a network connection from one network adapter to another network adapter on the same computer. Common applications of this are to have a desktop that is near a modem that is receiving a wired internet signal that it can then share through a wireless adapter to other computers around a household.. Not the best method but it’s a quick fix to router issues.
But if you read it in an article, I guess it might have another meaning.. According to wikipedia-
“Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means “for this [purpose]“. It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes.”
Thanks, I had to look up what [sic] meant after reading an article.. I knew what it meant but I thought that putting [sic] after something meant that the original persons mistake made them literally sick. xD
It’s good to know; Could you post a little glossary of this kind of “acronyms” and what they stand for in Latin and in English
like eg. ie. ps. sic and so on thanks
Thanks a lot Maeve for the link and your reply
I heard a long time ago it was an acronym for “Spelling InCorrect”. That made sense usually because if you looked carefully you could find something wrong with the spelling or grammar somewhere. {sic}
Thanks for the info. Its good to finally know what it really means!
@Tirk:
Ad hoc does not come from computing, and is more usually used elsewhere. The term means ‘For this’, usually to mean a unique use for a given scenario.
Therefore, it is used in computing to mean that something is created for each scenario (as you go along), just like in many other contexts (long before computing) to indicate that something is being created for purpose, for example someone speaking without a script in a given situation creates their speech ad hoc; for the purpose of the situation.
@ #2 (Eric),
I always thought the same. “Spelling is Correct”. So I guess you’re not the only idiot.
Coming from a military background, I have always understood this acronym to mean “Staff In Confidence”. However when reading articles, it just does not make sense in that context. Thankfully I now know what it means thanks to you Maeve.
The responding emails have also helped me understand.
What is the difference in using brackets as opposed to parenthesis?
…and I used to be so good in English! The more I know, the more I don’t know…
Michael,
I wrote a post on brackets that may answer your question: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-and-how-to-use-brackets/
I studies a lot of Latin, and can’t argue with the fact that “sic” means “thus” in Latin. I also agree that it is used the way described above – to indicate that the writer knows the preceding is incorrect, but replicated the error when quoting the original source.
What I have trouble with is reconciling the two. If I reference a quote from another source and inserted “thus” instead of “sic,” it wouldn’t really explain it to me. However I do remember my latin teacher telling us that “sic” was an abbreviation for “scriptum in corporum” (or something reasonably close to that), which meant “written in the body [of the original text].”
Admittedly, I can’t seem to find a corroborating source today, and I must admit, “scriptum in corporum” could have been a clever ruse designed to teach the class three Latin words instead of one, but I do find “scriptum in corporum” much more logical than “thus.”
In first sentence “studies” = “studied”
Maybe my comment would have been more credible if I had gotten through the first sentence without a typo
Michael,
Nothing like a typo to bring us down to earth!
“Maple Leaf College is well-known for it’s [sic] high academic standards.”
This is either an excellent example of trolling or a rather funny mistake.
The college may be well known for “its” high academic standards, but certainly not for “it’s” standards. The latter doesn’t even make sense.
@ Mick
Funnily enough, that’s exactly the point – that is why you add the [sic], because as the person quoting, you recognise that the original writer is in error. If you thought “it’s” was correct, you wouldn’t have the [sic].
The reason (sic) is seen a lot today is due to the amount of quotes in newspaper articles taken from the internet – and of course articles shown on the internet, which were taken from the internet!
Just shows how one advance in communication has been to the detriment of another.
What it also shows us is the literacy levels of the Worlds 16 -25 yr olds.
I think the author has made an incorrect connection with the “Sic” used by Booth and the [sic] used in written context. I was taught that [sic] is an acronym, much like the (sp) your English teacher used to put on your papers. It means “spelled in context”, which concords perfectly with one poster’s assertion that it is an acronym for “scriptum in corporum”, however I believe the Latin would have it “en corporum” rather than “in corporum”. I could be wrong.
The acronym [sic] is only properly used when quoting TEXT in written form, when the originator of the quoted text made an error. Such as if a bank robber presented a note to a bank teller that said, “Put the mony in the bag.” In order for an investigator to properly present the written text in his/her report, which would later become testimonial in court, he/she would write the message as, “Put the mony [sic] in the bag.”, so readers would know the originator misspelled the word and not the investigator. [sic] is not properly used for quoting spoken words.
For textual quoting of spoken words, when the writer is unsure of spelling, such as a person’s name, the abbreviation (ph), to indicate a phonetic spelling, is appropriate.
Brackets are used when inserting words into quoted text that are not part of the original quote. Parenthesis are used to make parenthetical comments in a sentence, which may be explanatory, but not contextually appropriate to include in the sentence. They are not interchangeable, as is commonly supposed.
Hope that long-winded explanation has some value for somebody.
I think I will go for “Said in Context” from @Zeke sounds like the most reasonable explanation. Or “sentence in context”. That could work also.
Thank you either way everyone I have always wondered what it meant.
I always thought it stood for “spelling in cuestion”
Yeah, I know… I thought someone else had the spelling wrong.
I’m the true idiot, and I win.
This is a much clear explanation, and much simplier. (remembering Ockham’s Razor)
Sic is a Latin word meaning “thus”, “so”, “as such”, or “in such a manner”. It is used when writing quoted material to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation or meaning in the quote has been reproduced verbatim from the original and is not a transcription error. – Wikipedia
…and someday I hope to be able to spell.
Hmm, most interesting thing i have read in a while.
Always had an idea of what this meant but could not have asked for a better put out explanation, what a shame for common english to have phased out so much of the old latin of the day
For some reason I had thought this was “See inline comment” Glad I finally googled it!
It’s good to learn something new everyday…and today I have!
And I ordered the free eBook as well, so my day is off to a good start.
~ Greg
Great information. Now I know where to go to get answers. Thank you.
I always thought it was simply from the Slipknot song “[sic]”
At the end of all their concerts they say, “stay sic”
@mcgee: I really enjoyed your comment. All of them were quite bluntly put. I thought of the Latin meaning from “sic transit gloria mundi” but didn’t see the [sic] part actually fit in the context, so I mostly settled for the idea that the writer was making fun of the reader, as in: “Sic! I told you so!”. It doesn’t make much sense. At all.
About the Slipknot song, I know what you’re talking about. They also have an album entitled MFKR which stands for Mate Feed Kill Repeat, so the sic thing might get one confused.
Tony your explanation was the one that cemented in my skull . Thanks.
Right on, Tony! Thanks.
Spelt/Spelling In Context
[sic] means said in context.
If the “i” had a macron, it would mean “yes” in Latin. 8D
@Bob: It does “have a macron” (that is, it’s a long vowel; only beginners’ texts print macrons in Latin); there’s no such word as sic with a short vowel. (But it doesn’t mean “yes” either way. There is no word in Latin corresponding closely to English “yes”)
Was [sic] used frequently with former President George W. Bush.
Dear Sir
Thank you so much for the explanation.
I was seeing use of [sic] in news stories where a news quoted a twitter tweet and used [sic] at end of tweet and i wanted to know what it means and came here.
Now I know what [sic] means but i am still confused as to what sic stands for.
From the replies my guess is sic => scriptum in corporum
or it can be Spelled InCorrectly or said in context.
Is there a exact full form of sic ?
Thanks.
Jasmine
I thought it meant “statement is citated”. As in a quote from a published source.
Doh !
Is “citated” a word? Cit-ta-ted? Is that how the above meant to type? Isn’t it cited? Aye, aye, aye, I know that I have been slacking on reading, altogether, but incorrect grammar is just sad:/
@TONY- let me get this correct.
From now on, proper gammar and spelling..
[sic] (<– with just words in italics) – is for rewriting a quote when a word is ..mispelled (sp) <— however, you can use this for mispellings in any writings? Doesn't (sp) mean that the writing isn't a final draft or something you don't want to get graded if there is a editing symbol on the paper at all?
(ph)<—– phonetic spelling when writing something that was spoken?
I have noticed that when articles in magazines use brackets ex. [He] was so good in bed… the sentences wouldn't even make sense without the word within the bracket…so is that why the writer inserts the "[He]" … when writing the acticle so the reader can understand?
( ) <—— used for adding a comment to the sentence?
Oh, and [] and () are not intrchngble?
P.S. I love how text abbrevations encourage continued wrong spelling… I bet english is going to get worse w/ each generation..I know if I forgot how to spell a word or if "i" comes before "e"..thn I will just abbreviate it. Then I never remember to look it up, so when I may have to spell it again it's moer than likely going to be wrong and someone is going to make fun of me on Facebook.
What's the difference between " blah, blah" and 'blah, blah' ?
quotation marks? are the single ones even supposed to be used? I use them sometimes (only but I'm driving and texting:P j/k. it's illegal in WI, nowadays! Thanks!
I’m going to be the redneck of the group. I thought [sic] meant: sit in chair.
This is the first time I have seen [sic], but after reading the article and everyone’s comments I feel I have a better understanding. Thanks everyone.
My dog just ate something awful and it’s made him sic [sic]
I just thought I would check what it meant bud didn’t think I would see a whole debat on it…there must be something better to do with what I have left of my life – Life is too short people!
T
I just thought I would check what it meant bud didn’t think I would see a whole debate on it…there must be something better to do with what I have left of my life – Life is too short people!
T
Absolutely enlightening. You all have made my morning. I know, or think I finally understand the [sic] used in newspaper articles. Someone above wrote about using the [] at the beginning of a sentence or other seemingly wrong parts if a sentence. Regardless this has been a wonderful learning experience.
sic in latin is the short version of sicut which begins a simile and is usually translated as “as in or like”. The church latin “sicut in terra et in caelo” is a good illustration of the latin usage, but most classical latin writers use the short “ut” form. In verbal form it is used for confirmation with the meaning “and so it is…like the truth”
the romance languages have continued its usage with “si” meaning “yes” or better “and so it is’.
I was always under the impression, and really only through inference, and thus without having any Latin insight or knowledge, that (sic) means that the author of a scientific article at least, expresses a certain amount of doubt of the statement preceding the (sic), i.e. the author implies it is nonsense. Any thoughts about this angle?
With reference to my previous comment – would “see in contexts” be an explanation?
Erik – to be an idiot means that you know better and do it anyway – ignorant of the fact – is a better description of your knowledge in that instance. I did not know what [sic] stood for at all – so this actually has help expand my knowledge base. I have seen the use for years and never looked it up before. It is nice to know .
I thought it stood for spelling isnt changed.
Guess I wasnt too far off the mark. Thanks for the Latin lessons!
Thanks to everyone, as the whole discussion has been great fun! NO WONDER we have so many miscommunications with one another as humans, when so much is subjective with a single three letter word. My best to you all! CH
Always thought it was an abbreviation for “Spelled InCorrectly”.
I was about 50% right, I guess.
So basically if I say I luv u 4ever
XOXO it will say (Sic) on the end, b/c I chose to write a bunch of crap instead of the actual letters. Other than that, saying sick at the end of statements is STUPID! It sounds so childish like the ever popular “that’s sick” phrase. Who comes up with this stuff? Some 25 year old who can’t let go of his childhood? And yes, I understand that sic is actually a Latin word but the person who decided to instate this punctuation law, for whatever reason, really is just trying to be trendy and kool. It’s really NOT that sick….
It’s not always to do with spelling. Often times the editor just puts it in the make fun of what someone said.
Well, I am impressed with the clever comments, intelligent references and interesting abbreviations. Abbreviations are definately the wave of the future as we sqz more and more wrds into smllr spaces. Eventually we will do away with all vwls, dble cnsnts, cptls, cs, qs, ys nd phs. thn th lngge wll b trly fcnt nt nly fcnt bt ls fctv. tn w wl b n th glrs ftr f – . thks l fr th wndrfl rtcl.
exact meaning of sic
I understand that sic is actually a Latin word but the person who decided to instate this punctuation law, for whatever reason, really is just trying to be trendy and kool. It’s really NOT that sick….
It’s not “sick” anyway; it’s a long vowel — more like “seek”
I accidently came across this website and I have been completely entertained for the last half hour. I knew what sic meant but for some reason I was compelled to continue reading through all the comments. Some were absolutely hilarious and others were just highly informative. It is Friday night around 12:30 a.m. and I am reading a website about grammar! I love it! It also proves that I must be getting old. A year ago I would have never guessed I would be doing this on a Friday night! However, since I am already here maybe someone could explain what brackets around a pronoun indicate. I see it often in my studies or just general reading. Seems like I see it around pronouns a lot.
@Tony,
I have enjoyed reading this debate, as you called it, so in saying life is too short is a rather sweeping and some what incorrect remark. If people enjoy something is that not living life well? I am an absolute duffer when it comes to English, caused by a head injury, it’s good to learn these things, again, and I have a sneaky suspicion you have like it also.
Thankyou everyone I have found this very illuminating. [sic] (for any mistakes made)
Why did I read all of the above? I must be mad. The original article said it all. The rest was just waffle.
@sonyablade – single quotation marks (‘ ‘), or apostrophes, are properly used as such only when a quote or work of literature is used within another quote so as not to confuse the reader. For instance, if you were quoting your friend John who was quoting his friend Nathan, it would read: So John said, “Nathan’s note said, ‘Thank you’. That’s it.”
Eric, I always thought it meant “spelling isn’t correct.” I noticed it was always entered after a misspelled word in a quotation and couldn’t think of anything else it would stand for lol.
I started noticing the usage of [sic] in indian newspapers/magazines from few months and saw it mostly when they quote Twitter or Facebook update of a celebrity – so I implicitly assume that it is their way of reporting a smiley – until today when i decided to finally google it. I suppose I am the most ‘ignnorrannt’ [Sic] of all the folks here !!
Rather conveniently [sic] can also be shorthand for “spelling incorrect”, that’s how i always think of it!
I also thought for years that it was “spelling incorrect,” but found out the truth many years ago.
Rod,
If I still have a good memory of my latin classes in middle school back in Africa, here are some explanation of the acronyms you are interested in:
1. i.e. stand for “idem est” meaning same as ;
2. e.g. stand for “exempli gratia” meaning for example ;
3. p.s. stand for “post scriptum” meaning a last note after the main text;
4. sic … this article
@sonyablade… My experience with using single quotes (and this of course is off the main subject now) relates to computer programming. Single quotes usually enclose a single character (a “character” is a standard programming data type). Standard quotes enclose what is known as a “string”, another data type that is basically successive characters, the number of which can be many. The reason for their being is, memory is allocated differently for each data type – a small amount for a single char and a larger amount for a string.
I’m with Diana, totally entertaining and somewhat informative. (Except I am at work.)
as I often say (ad naseum) it’s all about semantics, so boo sucks to you if you think this is waffle
I came here looking the ‘sic a dog on him’ usage, I think the Latin for ‘thus’ actually works in both contexts
btw, anyone who reads the English satirical mag Private Eye is very familiar with it’s slightly sarcastic implication (“yes, that’s what the fool said”) when applied in quoting a politician’s prounouncements
I seem to be the only one who also knows that “[sic]” is also the title of one of Grammy Award Winning heavy metal band Slipknot (often type set as SLIPKnoT) earler songs found on their self titled album Slipknot. although i doubt they were talking about spelling.