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modal

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mod⋅al

  [mohd-l]
Use modal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to mode, manner, or form.
2. Music.
a. pertaining to mode, as distinguished from key.
b. based on a scale other than major or minor.
3. Also, single modal. Transportation. pertaining to or suitable for transportation involving only one form of a carrier, as truck, rail, or ship. Compare bimodal (def. 3), intermodal.
4. Grammar. noting or pertaining to mood.
5. Philosophy. pertaining to a mode of a thing, as distinguished from one of its basic attributes or from its substance or matter.
6. Logic. exhibiting or expressing some phase of modality.
–noun
7. modal auxiliary.
Origin:
1560–70; < ML modālis. See mode 1 , -al 1

Related forms:
mod⋅al⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mod·al   (mōd'l)   
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a mode.
  2. Grammar Of, relating to, or expressing the mood of a verb.
  3. Music Of, relating to, characteristic of, or composed in any of the modes typical of medieval church music.
  4. Philosophy Of or relating to mode without referring to substance.
  5. Logic Expressing or characterized by modality.
  6. Statistics Of or relating to a statistical mode or modes.
n.  See modal auxiliary.

[Medieval Latin modālis, from Latin modus, measure; see med- in Indo-European roots.]
mod'al·ly adv.
modal auxiliary  
n.  A verb characteristically used with other verbs to express mood or tense. In English, the modal auxiliaries are can, may, must, ought, shall, should, will, and would. Also called modal.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Modal

Mo"dal\, a. [Cf. F. modal. See Mode.]

1. Of or pertaining to a mode or mood; consisting in mode or form only; relating to form; having the form without the essence or reality. --Glanvill.

2. (Logic & Metaph.) Indicating, or pertaining to, some mode of conceiving existence, or of expressing thought.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : modal
Spanish: ventaja, factor positivo,
German: der Pluspunkt,
Japanese: 貴重なもの
More Translations »

modal 
1569, term in logic, from M.Fr. modal, from M.L. modalis "of or pertaining to a mode," from L. modus "measure, manner, mode." Musical sense is from 1597.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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modal
1. (Of an interface) Having modes. Modeless interfaces are generally considered to be superior because the user does not have to remember which mode he is in.
2. See modal logic.
3. In MS Windows programming, A window with the label "WS_MODAL" will stay on the screen and claim all the user-input. Other windows can only be accessed if the MODAL window is closed. Such a window would typically be used for an error dialog box to warn the user for something important, like "Critical error, shut down the system and restart".
(1995-02-07)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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