ˈmōdəs noun
( plural mo·di -ˌdī ; see sense 2 )
Etymology: Latin, measure, manner — more at mete
1. : the immediate manner in which property may be acquired (as by occupation or prescription) or the particular tenure by which it is held
2. plural moduses : a customary mode of tithing by composition instead of by payment in kind
still took his tithe pig or his modus — George Eliot
3. : a mode of procedure : a way of doing something
no modus of accomplishing this desired result — Ezra Pound
4. : mode