Moss Spelling Dictionary

Two guesses in one: rhitidiadelfus

heard as rhitidiadelfus

spelled rhytidiadelphus

Rhytidiadelphus. The y stays and the ph stays.

What the ear did

The rh has survived here but the two Greek spellings inside the word have not. Whoever wrote this heard the word correctly and trusted the sound, which is the right instinct for English and the wrong one for a transliterated Greek compound.

Sound decision: two sound decisions at once. Said rye-tid-ee-a-DEL-fus.

R-H-Y-T-I-D-I-A-D-E-L-P-H-U-S

The full entry for rhytidiadelphus covers the name itself.

Other spellings people try