3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  2.  (Logic  &  Metaph.)  Indicating,  or  pertaining  to  some  mode 
  of  conceiving  existence,  or  of  expressing  thought. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  modal 
  adj  1:  (statistics)  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" 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  modal 
 
  1.  (Of  an  interface)  Having  {mode}s.  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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