Etymograph

English

sic

Sic comes from Latin sīc ‘thus, so’, from sī ‘if, supposing that’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só ‘this’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*só1‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sei1‘thus, so’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsī1‘if, supposing that’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsīce1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsīc2‘thus, so’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1887sic2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sic
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sic
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1887, E. Belfort Bax, On Some Forms of Modern Cant: “The fact is, of course, that the modern reviewer’s…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóWiktionary, Latin sic‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*seiWiktionary, Latin sic‘thus, so’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsīWiktionary, Latin sic‘if, supposing that’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsīceWiktionary, Latin sic
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsīcWiktionary, English sic‘thus, so’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1887sicWiktionary, English sic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1887, E. Belfort Bax, On Some Forms of Modern Cant: “The fact is, of course, that the modern reviewer’s…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *só ‘this’

then, these, soon, 7 more

through Proto-Italic *sei ‘thus, so’

contamination, tandem, 4 more

Today it means

adv Thus; as written; used to indicate, for example, that text is being quoted as it is from the source.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sic”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sic. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *só / sic

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