disc
noun variant spelling of disk .
disk |disk| (also disc)
noun
1 a flat, thin, round object : heavy metal disks the size of hockey pucks | onion soup ladled over a disk of cheese.
• an information storage device for a computer in the shape of a round flat plate that can be rotated to give access to all parts of the surface. The data may be stored either magnetically (in a magnetic disk) or optically (in an optical disk such as a CD-ROM).
• ( disc) short for compact disc .
• ( disc) dated a phonograph record.
• ( discs) one of the suits in some tarot packs, corresponding to coins in others.
2 a shape or surface that is round and flat in appearance : the smudged yellow disk of the moon. 3 a roundish, flattened part in an animal or plant, in particular
• ( disc or intervertebral disc) a layer of cartilage separating adjacent vertebrae in the spine : he suffered a prolapsed disc.
• Botany (in a composite flowerhead of the daisy family) a close-packed cluster of disk florets in the center, forming the yellow part of the flowerhead. v. [trans.] cultivate (a field) with a disk harrow. DERIVATIVES diskless adjective
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.(originally referring to the seemingly flat round form of the sun or moon): from French disque or Latin discus (see discus ).
USAGE Generally speaking, the U.S. spelling is disk and the British spelling is disc, although there is much overlap and variation between the two. In particular the spelling for senses relating to computers is nearly always disk, as in floppy disk, disk drive, etc., but compact disc, disc brakes, disc camera.
Thesaurus
disc, disk noun 1 the sun was a huge scarlet disc circle, round, saucer, discus, ring, round; coin. 2 computer disks. See disk sense 1 . 3 dated : an old Stones disc record, album, LP, vinyl.disk, disc noun 1 a box of blank disks diskette, floppy disk, floppy; hard disk; zip disk; CD, CD-ROM, DVD. 2 shape it into the form of a disc. See disc sense 1 .