| 释义 |
‖ mater lectionis Gram.|ˈmeɪtə lɛktɪˈəʊnɪs|
Pl. matres lectionis.
[mod.L., lit. ‘mother of reading’.]
A letter which has the function of a diacritical mark; spec. in Hebrew writing, a sign indicating a vowel sound.
1846B. Davies tr. Gesenius's Hebrew Gram. i. i. §8 The vowel-letters are also called by grammarians, matres lectionis (since they partly serve as guides in reading the unprinted text). 1925P. Radin tr. Vendryès's Lang. v. i. 328 In the Greek alphabet the principle of the matres lectionis was skilfully used for the creation of a special sign for each vowel. 1962Davidson & Mauchline Introd. Hebrew Gram. (ed. 25) 13 Thus וwould come in time to stand for long o and u, י for long e and i. {hebhe} likewise came to have a vocalic usage and the three letters are often termed vowel-letters or vocalic consonants (also matres lectionis). |