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What Does Sic Mean in Documents?

The term "sic," which is a standard usage in English writing, follows a word in a quoted passage that is spelled or used incorrectly, or is unusual in a way that makes it look like an error. "Sic" means that the word is being quoted exactly as it was found, and is not an error of transcription.

  1. Sic in Latin

    • Sic is from Latin. In that language, it meant "so" or "thus."

    Sic in English

    • In written English, sic is inserted in quoted passages to signify that a word is being quoted exactly as found, even if it is spelled incorrectly or a grammatical error or an archaic usage.

    Sic in Brackets

    • The convention style in using sic is to put it in square brackets, like so: [sic]. Less commonly, the word is put into standard parentheses, like so: (sic).

    Sic Italicized

    • It's also a conventional style in using sic to italicize it.

    An Example

    • An example of sic, as cited in Wordnik.com: "Thence they sailed along the shore until we [sic] reached 40 deg." —Henry Hudson

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