Where does “modal” come from?

modal (Middle French) comes from Latin modalis, from Latin modus, from Proto-Indo-European mēd-, from Proto-Indo-European med- — to measure; to give advice; healing.

Ancestry of “modal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmodalispertaining to a mode
2Latinmodusmeasure
3Proto-Indo-Europeanmēd-to measure
4Proto-Indo-Europeanmed-to measure; to give advice; healing

Words derived from “modal”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European med- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mēd- →Every word from Latin modus →