*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of sic

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sóder. Proto-Italic *sei Latin sī Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Italic *ke Latin -ce Latin sīce Latin sīclbor. English sic Learned borrowing from Latin sīc (“thus, so”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adv

Thus; as written; used to indicate, for example, that text is being quoted as it is from the source. · Used in the manner of scare quotes

verb

To mark with a bracketed sic.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sóder. Proto-Italic *sei Latin sī Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Italic *ke Latin -ce Latin sīce Latin sīclbor. English sic Learned borrowing from Latin sīc (“thus, so”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:sīc<t:thus, so>",
        "id": "thus",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *sóder.\nProto-Italic *sei\nLatin sī\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe\nProto-Italic *ke\nLatin -ce\nLatin sīce\nLatin sīclbor.\nEnglish sic\n[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"thus, so\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"sīce\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*só\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*sei\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"sī\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"here\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"here\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ḱe\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*ke\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ce\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"sīc\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"sic\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"thus\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"sic\" id=\"English:_thus\">\nLearned borrowing from Latin sīc (“thus, so”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "la:sīc<t:thus, so>",
        "id": "thus",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *sóder.\nProto-Italic *sei\nLatin sī\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe\nProto-Italic *ke\nLatin -ce\nLatin sīce\nLatin sīclbor.\nEnglish sic\nLearned borrowing from Latin sīc (“thus, so”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*só",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/só"
    ],
    [
      "*sei",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/sei"
    ],
    [
      "sī",
      "si#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱe#Proto-Indo-European:_here"
    ],
    [
      "*ke",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/ke#Proto-Italic:_here"
    ],
    [
      "-ce",
      "-ce#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "sīc",
      "sic#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "sīc",
      "sic#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Thus; as written; used to indicate, for example, that text is being quoted as it is from the source.",
        "Used in the manner of scare quotes"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "broadly"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 32203
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To mark with a bracketed sic."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "0f056b488247fa81f8bdc47ab5519f972ec2e2284948842802c33bf6f7ecd70e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7ec5e84ed8963c6315778f27361bab209f622842fea65a47f22edc219b8c1442",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 32204
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To incite an attack by, especially a dog or dogs. · To set upon; to chase; to attack.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Variant of seek.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "seek",
        "id": "seek",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "seek",
        "id": "seek",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "seek",
      "seek#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To incite an attack by, especially a dog or dogs.",
        "To set upon; to chase; to attack."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for sic →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c2lj