What the hell does [sic] mean?

For years, you've seen it in writing, and (if you've half a brain) assumed, given the context it was in, had something to do with literal quotes, misspellings, and grammatical errors taken directly from the source.

You are correct.

"It was hell at the start of the year but this is unreal. I love yous [sic] all."

As shown above, [sic] is used to identify spelling and/or grammatical errors intentionally written so (this comes in handy when writing English papers, so your teacher doesn't actually mark off points for something some other dumb jackass wrote). Most commonly, square brackets [ ] are used around the word, although sometimes, you may see parentheses used as well.

But where exactly does the word come from?

American Heritage Dictionary gives this definition:

sic - adv.
Thus; so. Used to indicate that a quoted passage, especially one containing an error or unconventional spelling, has been retained in its original form or written intentionally.

The origin actually comes from the Latin word sicut which best translates into "just as" or "as is". Thus, the Thus.

For those of you wondering where you should position your [sic] , it should be placed directly after the offending error, whether it be a word or a phrase. Also, you may want to italicize your [sic] as well.

Use it to be an asshole and point out how smart you are. Use it to show your teachers you're not as dumb as the guy you're quoting. Or, just use it just because you've learned a new word. The fact that you're using it means that there's (most likely) one less asshole on the streets too stoopid [sic] to remember 6th grade English and grammar.