Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
sic (adv.)
Americans pronounce this Latin word (meaning “thus”) to rhyme with either sick or seek, and use it mainly to dissociate themselves from errors in a text they’re quoting. It isn’t an abbreviation, so it requires no period, and it usually appears in square brackets following a misspelling or misuse of a word, in order to show that the error is in the original. This use of sic may be defensive, but its overuse is offensive (nor does a following exclamation point help matters); in typographical and other truly minor matters it’s usually better quietly to correct the original.
