Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:48:57 -0400 From: Bob Johnson <fbsdlists@gmail.com> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Disk vs Disc (was: WD External Disc Drive) Message-ID: <54db43990910261048k8a5d644q2950d4d5e5cb3b01@mail.gmail.com>
next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On 10/26/09, Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> wrote: > On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:07:45 +0000, Arthur Chance <freebsd@qeng-ho.org> > wrote: >> The distinction you make is one >> I've not come across before, and I've worked with computers for nearly >> 40 years. > Same here. I've always been told they were completely interchangeable. I do recall that when floppy drives appeared for personal computers in the late '70s and early '80s, there was some argument about the correct spelling. The claim was that "disc" was correct, and that some ignorant hobbyist at a new computer company had misspelled it as "disk" and it stuck. But IBM used the "disk" spelling long before that, so I don't think that was really what happened. Looking in the OED, I find that "disk" was the original spelling, and in the late 1800s "disc" became popular, then around 1950 "disk" started regaining popularity, largely in the computer industry. - Bob -- -- Bob Johnson fbsdlists@gmail.com
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?54db43990910261048k8a5d644q2950d4d5e5cb3b01>