what is a macron

A macron is a diacritical mark that is a straight bar placed above a letter, usually a vowel, to indicate that the vowel is long or heavy). It is named after the Ancient Greek word μακρόν, meaning "long," because it was originally used to mark long or heavy syllables in Greco-Roman metrics). In Latin, many modern dictionaries and learning materials use the macron as the equivalent of the ancient Roman apex to mark long vowels). The macron can be used in conjunction with the breve to distinguish between short vowels and their semi-vowel counterparts). The macron has no unique value and is simply used to distinguish between two different phonemes in some vernacular languages of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu). In Old English texts, a macron above a letter indicates the omission of an "m" or "n" that would normally follow that letter). In romanizations of Hebrew, the macron below is typically used to mark the begadkefat consonant lenition). In summary, a macron is a diacritical mark used to indicate a long or heavy vowel sound.