# Disc or disk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153 "2003-11-03T14:48:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/1 "2003-11-03T14:48:31Z")
…as in the thing you store computer files on. Even the websites of companies that deal in removable media seem to mix and match the two spellings, sometimes in the same sentence. So which is it, and why? Or is it the subject for a great debate? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/2 "2003-11-03T14:52:56Z")
per AP: > [@](#): > > **disc** Use this spelling except for computer-related references: _laserdisc, videodisc, but hard disk_ YSMV (Your style manual may vary.) I assume this puts CD in the “disc” category. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/3 "2003-11-03T15:00:59Z")
Magnetic media (floppies and hard drives) are disks. Optical media (CD,DVD,LD) are discs. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/4 "2003-11-03T15:09:21Z")
There aren’t any hard-and-fast rules here, only _conventions_; ‘disk’ is the American spelling, ‘disc’ is the English one - both terms are completely valid and equivalent in their respective domains. The problem is that the term then gets embedded into a meta-term and (usually)sticks whichever way it started - floppies and hard drives are disks, CDs and DVDs are discs - no rhyme or reason for it, just established usage. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/5 "2003-11-03T15:41:29Z")
FWIW, Seagate, alone among hard drive manufacturers, spells it **disc**. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/6 "2003-11-03T17:50:06Z")
Well, in the case of floppy disks, I know that “diskette” just looks and feels better than “discette”. For one thing, the pronunciation of the first spelling is more obvious than the second. CDs, DVDs, etc have never been referred to as “diskettes”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/7 "2003-11-03T20:09:29Z")
I don’t see how that proves me wrong; all it demonstrates is that conventions are not immutable or universal, but I never claimed any such things. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/8 "2003-11-03T22:15:15Z")
Thanks for that. I’m translating the user manual for a digital surveillance system into English, so I think I’ll go along with **Pulykamell** and **Mangetout** and use _“Disk”_ for magnetic storage media and _“Disc”_ for any other (non-botanical) platter-shaped accoutrements. ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/9 "2003-11-03T22:32:38Z")
Oops, and **Neutron Star** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/10 "2003-11-03T23:01:12Z")
cf **program** and **programme** ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/11 "2003-11-03T23:24:25Z")
The post to which I last replied seems to have gone missing… hmmm ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/12 "2003-11-03T23:27:49Z")
Well if it was a hallucination, I had it too… ---
**Author:** ![trabi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@trabi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trabi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/13 "2003-11-03T23:29:30Z")
Now people are going to wonder about my reference to non-botanical optical media. ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/14 "2003-11-04T03:51:27Z")
An old rule of thumb is that, in the U. S. at least, one generally uses the spelling “disc” when referring to an object which is in and of itself known as “a disc”; hence, “he suffered a slipped disc and had back pain ever after”, but use the spelling “disk” when referring specifically to shape of an object: “the recipe calls for forming the meat into small disks”. In the late 40s UFOs were often referred to as “flying discs” or “flying disks” as well as flying saucers. This custom may have died out because newspaper editors could not arrive at a consensus as to which spelling to use. The convention would seem to call for referring to the disk- shaped computer devices as “discs”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/15 "2003-11-04T08:12:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slipster \* > **An old rule of thumb is that, in the U. S. at least, one generally uses the spelling “disc” when referring to an object which is in and of itself known as “a disc”; hence, “he suffered a slipped disc and had back pain ever after”, but use the spelling “disk” when referring specifically to shape of an object: “the recipe calls for forming the meat into small disks”.** The same is true on this side of the Atlantic (only in reverse); we use the spelling ‘disk’ when referring to an object conventionally named as such (floppy disk), but use the spelling ‘disc’ when referring to the shape. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disc-or-disk/211153/16 "2003-11-04T08:22:01Z")
What about _ **DISCK** _?