Modally

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that pertains to modes, this expression indicates variations or characteristics of phenomena based on different forms or methodologies
2. Describing actions or conditions that are shaped by specific modes of thought or operation, this term highlights the influence of varying frameworks present in a situation
3. Referring to the manner or mode in which something occurs, this term emphasizes the variations in characteristics that arise from different forms of expression or methodology

Etymology: "Modally" is an ordinary formation: the adjective "modal" with the suffix "-ly" attached to make an adverb. The adjective "modal" is itself built from Latin "modus", meaning "measure" or "manner", and it came into English as a technical term in grammar and logic, where it describes how a statement is qualified, such as by possibility or necessity. The adverb therefore carries that sense of manner into everyday use, describing something that happens in a particular mode. The suffix does most of the work here. "-ly" descends from Old English "-līċe", a word that originally meant "in the form of" or "like", so the ending once meant something close to "in a [such-and-such] manner." That same old sense is why "modally" reads as "in a modal way." The suffix has been attached to adjectives throughout English's history, which is why the adverb needed no special coinage.

Synonyms: in a modal manner, in terms of modality