Why is the word “modal” used to describe forms?

Question

We all know what “modal” forms are in windowed programming environments: forms that must be closed before the rest of the application’s GUI is accessible again.

Why is the word “modal” used to describe this concept?

Answer 1

I believe because you are in a specific mode that you cannot escape from until you reject a dialog box or form.

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Answer 2

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(computer_interface)

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