alt Hacker NewsKinda surprising that the article doesn't mention the actual origin of the words:
"Disc" comes from "discus" (the plate thrown in the Olympics)
"Disk" comes from "diskette" (French for "small disc")
I probably just outed myself as a boomer assuming that was common knowledge.
Replies
You are (rightfully) saying that they semantically mean kinda the same thing. That doesn't neatly fit any branding guideline though, I'm sorry.
Both versions are disque in French. (presumably disquette for "diskette") Don't blame the French for this.
The fact of the matter is that the spelling "disk" probably entered common use from IBM who invented both the hard and the floppy disk, calling the latter the Type 1 Diskette. Enough people were exposed to the "disk" spelling from IBM usage that it kind of stuck, although in the early 1980s the spelling "floppy disc" was sometimes encountered.
Pff! Disc comes from Disco!
Disquette*
In French we say disque for both. it's pronounced the same as disk and disc.