pseudevernia

P-S-E-U-D-E-V-E-R-N-I-A

Said soo-de-VER-nee-uh. In full, Pseudevernia furfuracea.

Tree moss, the pale forked lichen collected from oak and spruce for the perfume trade. Two things go wrong when the name is written from hearing: the silent p, and the missing o that people expect after pseud-.

Why the sound and the spelling disagree

Greek pseudes, false, in front of the lichen genus Evernia: a false Evernia. The p is written and not said, as in psalm and psychology, and the o of pseudo- drops out because the next word begins with a vowel.

A genus of shrubby grey lichens growing on bark and twigs, with flat forking lobes, white above and dark beneath.

Spellings people type after hearing it

syoodeverniatwo sound decisions at once
pseedeverniaan unstressed vowel blurring
psyoodeverniaa Latin or Greek vowel pair
sudeverniatwo sound decisions at once
pseudevarniaan unstressed vowel blurring
pseuddeverniaa doubled consonant under the stress
seudeverniaa letter that is written but not said
pseudaverniaan unstressed vowel blurring
syoudeverniatwo sound decisions at once