|mäd.ə(r)ˌlektēˈōnə̇s noun
( plural ma·tres lectionis ˈmä.ˌtrāˌsl-)
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
: 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