The word "paternoster vlm" may seem confusing due to its unusual spelling, but it is actually a Latin phrase that has been used for centuries in prayer. The IPA phonetic transcription of this word is /pəˈtəːnɒstə(r) vi(ː) ɛl ɛm/ and it refers to the Catholic prayer known as the Lord's Prayer or the Our Father. The term "paternoster" is derived from the Latin word for father, while "vlm" stands for "versus lectionis Matthaei", meaning "according to the reading of Matthew," since the prayer is taken from the Bible's Gospel of Matthew.