modal
from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
modal
adj 1: relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a
distribution; "the modal age at which American novelists
reach their peak is 30" [syn: {modal(a)}, {average}]
2: of or relating to a musical mode; especially written in an
ecclesiastical mode
3: relating to or expressing the mood of a verb; "modal
auxiliary"
n 1: an auxiliary verb (such as `can' or `will') that is used to
express modality [syn: {modal auxiliary verb}, {modal
auxiliary}, {modal verb}, {modal}]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Logic & Metaph.) Indicating, or pertaining to, some mode
of conceiving existence, or of expressing thought, such as
the modes of possibility or obligation.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
3. (Gram.) Pertaining to or denoting mood.
[PJC]
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
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)
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