Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
MODERN
I. adjective see: mete
Date: 1585
1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the present or the immediate past ; contemporary , of, relating to, or characteristic of a period extending from a relevant remote past to the present time, involving recent techniques, methods, or ideas ; up-to-date , of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the present or most recent period of development of a language, of or relating to modernism ; modernist, modernity noun modernly adverb modernness noun
II. noun
Date: 1585
1. a person of modern times or views, an adherent of modernism ; modernist, a style of printing type distinguished by regularity of shape, precise curves, straight hairline serifs, and heavy downstrokes