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Modal Relating  Of Manner Mode Form ə Latin 

Title modal
Text
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
mod·al
 \\ˈmō-dəl\\ adjective
 ETYMOLOGY  Medieval Latin modalis, from Latin modus
 DATE  1569
1. of or relating to modality in logic
2. containing provisions as to the mode of procedure or the manner of taking effect — used of a contract or legacy
3. of or relating to a musical mode
4. of or relating to structure as opposed to substance
5. of, relating to, or constituting a grammatical form or category characteristically indicating predication of an action or state in some manner other than as a simple fact
6. of or relating to a statistical mode
• mod·al·ly 
 \\-dəl-ē\\ adverb
English Etymology
modal
  1569, term in logic, from 
M.Fr
http://M.Fr
. modal, from M.L. modalis "of or pertaining to a mode," from L. modus "measure, manner, mode." Musical sense is from 1597.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7
modal
modal 5mEudlNAmE 5moudl / (also modal 'verbmodal au'xiliarymodal au'xiliary verbnoun   (grammar 语法) a verb such as canmay or will that is used with another verb (not a modal) to express possibility, permission, intention, etc.
   情态动词(如 can、may 或 will 等,和实义动词连用表示可能、许可、意图等)
 modal adj. 
 compare 
auxiliary
 n. (1) 
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
mod·al
I. \ˈmōdəl\ adjective
Etymology: Medieval Latin modalis, from Latin modus measure, manner + -alis -al — more at 
mete
1. : of or relating to mode or modality in logic
2. : containing provisions as to the mode of procedure or the manner of taking effect — used of a contract or legacy
3. : of or relating to a musical mode; specifically : written in one of the ecclesiastical modes
 < uses diatonic harmonies with a modal flavor — Humphrey Searle >
4. : of or relating to form as opposed to substance : having form without reality
5. 
 a. : of, relating to, or constituting a grammatical form or category characteristically indicating predication of an action or state in some manner other than as a simple fact
 b. : of, relating to, or constituting a grammatical case that denotes manner
6. : of or relating to a statistical mode : most common : 
typical
 < the anthropologist's modal concept of culture pattern which is based upon observations of what most people seem to be doing — Jacob Fried >
 < has produced his first novel at the age of sixty … approximately thirty years after the modal American novelist reaches his peak — J.K.Galbraith >
7. : of or relating to modalism
• mod·al·ly \-əlē, -li\ adverb
II. noun
(-s)
1. : a modal proposition or statement in logic
2. : a grammatical form belonging to a class of words or inflectional affixes with a modal function; specifically : a modal auxiliary in English grammar

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