sic
Adverb:
- Intentionally so written: Used after a printed word or phrase, especially in brackets, to indicate that it is quoted exactly as in the original, including any perceived errors or unusual spellings.
Verb:
- To urge or set upon to attack: To command or incite an animal, especially a dog, to attack someone or something.
- To urge or incite to pursue or harass: To direct someone or something to pursue, harass, or trouble another.
Adverb: The letter stated, "The meeting is on Febuary [sic] 30th." (This indicates the original writer misspelled "February" and wrote the impossible date "30th," but the quote is reproduced exactly.) The review said the food was "absolutly [sic] delicious." (This shows the quoted word "absolutly" was misspelled in the original text.)
Verb: The farmer sicced his dog on the trespassers. (The farmer urged his dog to attack the trespassers.) The politician sicced his lawyers on the newspaper that published the story. (The politician directed his lawyers to aggressively pursue legal action against the newspaper.)
"[sic]" in formal writing: The adverb is almost exclusively used in academic, legal, or journalistic writing when quoting text. It assures the reader that an error or oddity was present in the source material, not introduced by the person quoting it. The historical document read, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union [sic]..." (Here, [sic] notes that the phrase "more perfect" is considered grammatically debatable but is quoted verbatim.)
Verb with "on": The verb "sic" is almost always followed by the preposition "on" when indicating the target of the attack or harassment. She sicced the collection agency on her delinquent clients.
- Sick (verb): A common variant spelling of the verb "sic." (e.g., )
- Set on (phrasal verb): A synonym for the verb form meaning to attack. (e.g., )
- Adverb: , (in the sense of "intentionally written as such").
- Verb: , , , .
- Sic on: This is the standard construction for the verb.
- To sic someone/something on someone: This is the idiomatic structure for the verb usage.
- intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase)
- urge to attack someone
- The owner sicked his dogs on the intruders
- the shaman sics sorcerers on the evil spirits