modality
- 6 dictionary resultsmo⋅dal⋅i⋅ty
[moh-dal-i-tee]
| 1. | the quality or state of being modal. |
| 2. | an attribute or circumstance that denotes mode or manner. |
| 3. | Also called mode. Logic. the classification of propositions according to whether they are contingently true or false, possible, impossible, or necessary. |
| 4. | Medicine/Medical. the application of a therapeutic agent, usually a physical therapeutic agent. |
| 5. | one of the primary forms of sensation, as vision or touch. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Modality
Mo*dal"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. modalit['e].]1. The quality or state of being modal. 2. (Logic & Metaph.) A modal relation or quality; a mode or point of view under which an object presents itself to the mind. According to Kant, the quality of propositions, as assertory, problematical, or apodeictic.Cite This Source
Main Entry: mo·dal·i·ty
Pronunciation: mO-'dal-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : oneof the main avenues of sensation (as vision)
2 a : a usually physical therapeutic agency b : an apparatus for applying a modality
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modality mo·dal·i·ty (mō-dāl'ĭ-tē)
n.
- A therapeutic method or agent, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or electrotherapy, that involves the physical treatment of a disorder.
- Any of the various types of sensation, such as vision or hearing.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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modality
in logic, the classification of logical propositions according to their asserting or denying the possibility, impossibility, contingency, or necessity of their content. Modal logic, which studies the logical features of such concepts, originated with Aristotle, was extensively studied by logicians in antiquity and the European Middle Ages, and, for the most part, was neglected after the Renaissance until revived in modern mathematical logic. The basic statement on this subject, presupposed in most contemporary discussions, is by C.I. Lewis and Cooper Harold Langford in Symbolic Logic (1932), which develops a modal system of "strict implication" for interpreting the logical force of "if . . . then."
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