disc: [17] Disc comes ultimately from Greek dískos ‘quoit’, a derivative of the verb dikein ‘throw’. This passed into Latin as discus, adopted by English in the 17th century in its original athletic sense. The most salient semantic feature of the discus was perhaps its shape, and it was this that English took over in the form disc (either adapted from Latin or borrowed from French disque). The spelling disk is preferred in American English, and it is the standard form used for ‘disc-shaped computer storage device’. Other English words ultimately derived from Latin discus are dais, desk, and dish. => dais, desk, dish
Latinate spelling preferred in British English for most uses of disk (q.v.). American English tends to use it in the musical recording sense; originally of phonograph records, recently of compact discs. Hence, discophile "enthusiast for gramophone recordings" (1940).
