modal Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an auxiliary verb (such as `can' or `will') that is used to express modality
    modal auxiliary verb; modal verb; modal auxiliary.
  2. adjective satellite relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution
    average.
    • the modal age at which American novelists reach their peak is 30
  3. adjective of or relating to a musical mode; especially written in an ecclesiastical mode
  4. adjective relating to or expressing the mood of a verb
    • modal auxiliary

WordNet

Mo"dal adjective
Etymology
Cf. F. modal. See Mode.
Definitions
  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 1913