modal
A modal propositionA modal (etymology 1, adjective sense 4) proposition.
» Most foreigners will never fully master the use of German modal particles.
Die meisten Ausländer werden den Gebrauch der deutschen Modalpartikeln nie völlig beherrschen. — al_ex_an_der
Большинство иностранцев никогда в полной мере не освоит немецкие модальные частицы. — Karok
shekitten · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
5 sensesA modal (etymology 1, adjective sense 4) proposition.
A modal (etymology 1, adjective sense 2) form, notably a modal auxiliary.
A modal verb.
A modal (etymology 1, adjective sense 7) window, one that cannot be closed until a decision is made.
(uncountable)A semi-synthetic fabric, a very soft kind of rayon textile made from beech tree pulp and processed with chemicals.
- an auxiliary verb (such as ‘can’ or ‘will’) that is used to express modality
Examples
1 sentencesMost foreigners will never fully master the use of German modal particles.
ruБольшинство иностранцев никогда в полной мере не освоит немецкие модальные частицы. — Karok
deDie meisten Ausländer werden den Gebrauch der deutschen Modalpartikeln nie völlig beherrschen. — al_ex_an_der
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from LatinFrom Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al.
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Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: modalsSynonyms
3 synonyms- an auxiliary verb (such as ‘can’ or ‘will’) that is used to express modality:modal auxiliary verbmodal auxiliarymodal verb
Word family
5 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.