mater lectionis
noun
ma·ter lec·ti·o·nis
¦mätə(r)ˌlektēˈōnə̇s
plural matres lectionis
ˈmä‧ˌtrāˌsl-
: the alphabetic signs א (\\ʔ\\), ה (\\h\\), ו (\\w\\), and י (\\y\\) in Hebrew which assist in indicating the vocalization in an originally consonantal writing system
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, literally, mother of reading; from its function of enabling a person reading aloud to give an accurate rendition of a written word