# mater lectionis

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmeɪtə lɛktiˈəʊnɪs/

## Definitions
1. A consonant letter used to represent a vowel sound in Semitic scripts.

## Etymology
Borrowed from New Latin māter lēctiōnis (literally “mother of reading”), calque of Medieval Hebrew אֵם קְרִיאָה (ʾēm qərîʾā).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/mater-lectionis