What's the difference between a "disc" and a "disk"?

[Yahshua]

So all of you computer geeks out there what is the difference between a "disc" and a "disk"?

[Slater]

I've often wondered this...

Seems like CDs are Compact Discs and harddrives are "Disks"

Maybe it's a size difference? or maybe it's how the device works...

[uc pseudonym]

I don't think there is a hard and fast answer, really. There is a lot of confusion over how the terms are used and many people use them differently. Personally I view them as synonymous unless the writer states otherwise.

"Disk" is the original and some editors don't accept "disc." The latter is also the British spelling. Some people say that "disk" refers to magnetic memory storage (floppies, hard drives, etc) and "disc" refers to storage read by a laser (CDs and DVDs, mainly). You can use that distinction if you like.

[ShiroiHikari]

I always thought "disc" referred to objects that are round in shape (CDs, DVDs, LaserDiscs...).

[Bobtheduck]

Both disk and disc (from discus) refer to things that are round. The magnetic disc inside the diskette. I think it was a matter of the same word getting imported into English twice from two similar languages, and we have discus as well, but this is generally just shortened to disc.

Floppies were not called "disks" to begin with, they were "diskettes" which sounds like a combination of disc and cassette (since it's a cassete that holds the disc)