The OED observes that the earliest reported usage in English uses 'k' - c1575 G. Buchanan, 'I can not tak you for ane Stoik philosopher.. of ane cairless (skeptic) hart that taks cuccaldris as thyng indifferent.' The use of 'c' comes via latin scepticus. It is apparent that English writers in the 1500's were familiar with the Greek pronounciation (hard k) as well as the Latin spelling, and usage seemed to fall on both sides of the fence. Dr Johnson's dictionary had it as 'k'; but he was aware of the alternate spelling, referring readers at the entry 'sceptick' (page 572) to see 'skeptick' (page 655). The OED notes that 'sk' became the norm in the USA, while 'sc' is the common form in England. I suppose, from a purely rational spelling point of view, the spelling should be 'k'. More needs to be said about the Greek roots, but I have yet to lay my hands on a good Greek lexicon. Incidentally 'cuccaldris' appears to be 'cuckoldry' in the c1575 quote - which illustrates how 'plastic' language was/is. My own usage is perfectly inconsistent.
What is interesting in this - for me - is that I had read elsewhere about Dr Johnson's dictionary citing 'sk' and would have assumed that he never mentioned 'sc' at all, except that I stumbled on the latter while looking for the former. Not hugely significant, but it does put Dr Johnson more 'towards the centre' in terms of usage. At 'sk' he cites a Greek and a French source (only). It might become apparent by checking against other words whether he had a preference against using French root spellings where he had the choice. Another project for another day.
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