modal

¹

[ mohd-l ]

adjective

1. of or relating to mode, manner, or form.
2. Music.
   1. relating to mode, as distinguished from key.
   2. based on a scale other than major or minor.
3. Also single modal. Transportation. relating to or suitable for transportation involving only one form of a carrier, such as truck, rail, or ship. Compare bimodal ( def 3 ), intermodal.
4. Grammar. being or relating to mood.
5. Philosophy. relating to a mode of a thing, as distinguished from one of its basic attributes or from its substance or matter.
6. Statistics. relating to the mode, the value that occurs most frequently in a particular data set, population, etc.
7. Logic. exhibiting or expressing some phase of modality.

noun

1. Grammar. modal auxiliary ( def ).

modal

²

[ moh-dol, mohd-l ]

noun

1. a type of rayon made from the pulp of hardwood trees, especially beech.

modal

/ ˈməʊdəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of mode or manner
2. grammar (of a verb form or auxiliary verb) expressing a distinction of mood, such as that between possibility and actuality. The modal auxiliaries in English include can, could, may, must, need, ought, shall, should, will, and would
3. philosophy logic
   1. qualifying or expressing a qualification of the truth of some statement, for example, as necessary or contingent
   2. relating to analogous qualifications such as that of rules as obligatory or permissive
4. metaphysics of or relating to the form of a thing as opposed to its attributes, substance, etc
5. music of or relating to a mode
6. of or relating to a statistical mode

Derived Forms

• ˈmodally, adverb

Other Words From

• mod·al·ly adverb
• non·mod·al adjective
• non·mod·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of modal¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from Medieval Latin modālis; equivalent to mode ¹ + -al ¹

Origin of modal²

First recorded in 1975–80; from Serbo-Croatian; equivalent to mod(ulus) ( def ) + -al ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Many higher-end models offer modal connections, with wireless, USB, and traditional wired options.

From Popular-Science

Instead, Apple should make this message clickable, which opens a modal to learn more about this issue.

From TechCrunch

Pichai also mentioned Google’s focus on developing multi-modal models that can understand information across text, images, audio and video.

From Search Engine Land

Columbia’s jersey sheets are made from super-soft 100 percent modal jersey with Omni-wick, moisture-wicking technology to keep you dry yet insulated.

From Popular-Science

These elements usually include forms, buttons, navigations, dropdowns, alerts, modals, tabs, accordions, carousels, tooltips, and so on.

From Search Engine Watch

Again, modal propositions cannot be reduced to the common form by joining the modality to the predicate, and turning, e.g.

From Project Gutenberg

Dupliciter is always modal; in two different manners, with double purpose; bifariam is local, in two places, or two parts.

From Project Gutenberg

I cant take that; it would not even cover my outlay— Ta buleh-lah tuan, ta pulang modal sahaya.

From Project Gutenberg

Others are modal in character, such as 'What shall we do with the drunken sailor?'

From Project Gutenberg

The present sample is not adequate to indicate extreme or modal dates with reasonable accuracy.

From Project Gutenberg