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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Method \Meth"od\, noun [F. m['e]thode, L. methodus, fr. Gr. meqodos method, investigation following after; meta' after + "odo's way.]
1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of teaching languages; a method of improving the mind. --Addison.
2. Orderly arrangement, elucidation, development, or classification; clear and lucid exhibition; systematic arrangement peculiar to an individual.
Though this be madness, yet there's method in it. --Shak.
All method is a rational progress, a progress toward an end. --Sir W. Hamilton.
3. (Nat. Hist.) Classification; a mode or system of classifying natural objects according to certain common characteristics; as, the method of Theophrastus; the method of Ray; the Linn[ae]an method.
4. A technique used in acting in which the actor tries to identify with the individual personality of the specific character being portrayed, so as to provide a realistic rendering of the character's role. Also called {the Method}, {method acting}, the Stanislavsky Method or {Stanislavsky System}. [PJC]
Syn: Order; system; rule; regularity; way; manner; mode; course; process; means.
Usage: {Method}, {Mode}, {Manner}. Method implies arrangement; mode, mere action or existence. Method is a way of reaching a given end by a series of acts which tend to secure it; mode relates to a single action, or to the form which a series of acts, viewed as a whole, exhibits. Manner is literally the handling of a thing, and has a wider sense, embracing both method and mode. An instructor may adopt a good method of teaching to write; the scholar may acquire a bad mode of holding his pen; the manner in which he is corrected will greatly affect his success or failure.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
method
noun: a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
173 Moby Thesaurus words for "method": MO, ability, action, actions, activity, acts, address, affectation, air, algorithm, anality, apple-pie order, approach, arrangement, art, avenue, behavior, behavior pattern, behavioral norm, behavioral science, blueprint, blueprinting, calculation, capacity, capital, carriage, charting, comportment, conception, conduct, contrivance, course, craft, culture pattern, custom, demeanor, deportment, design, device, devices, discipline, disposable resources, disposition, doing, doings, enterprise, envisagement, fashion, figuring, fine fettle, folkway, foresight, forethought, form, funds, game, gestures, goings-on, good condition, good shape, good trim, graphing, ground plan, guidelines, guise, idea, intention, layout, line, line of action, lines, lineup, long-range plan, maintien, manner, manner of working, manners, mapping, master plan, means, mechanics, mechanism, methodicalness, methodology, methods, mien, mode, mode of operation, mode of procedure, modus, modus operandi, modus vivendi, motions, movements, moves, neatness, observable behavior, operations research, order, orderliness, organization, pattern, plan, planning, planning function, poise, port, pose, posture, power, practice, praxis, prearrangement, presence, procedure, proceeding, process, program, program of action, rationalization, recourses, regularity, resorts, resources, road, route, routine, schedule, schema, schematism, schematization, scheme, scheme of arrangement, science, setup, skill, social science, stock, strategic plan, strategy, structure, style, supply, system, systematicness, systematization, tack, tactical plan, tactics, technic, technical know-how, technical knowledge, technical skill, technics, technique, technology, the big picture, the drill, the how, the picture, the way of, tidiness, tone, trimness, way, way of life, ways, ways and means, wherewith, wherewithal, wise, working plan, wrinkle
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
method The name given in {Smalltalk} and other {object-oriented languages} to a procedure or routine associated with one or more {classes}. An {object} of a certain class knows how to perform actions, e.g. printing itself or creating a new instance of itself, rather than the function (e.g. printing) knowing how to handle different types of object. Different classes may define methods with the same name (i.e. methods may be {polymorphic}). The term "method" is used both for a named operation, e.g. "PRINT" and also for the code which a specific class provides to perform tha t operation. Most methods operate on objects that are instances of a certain class. Some object-oriented languages call these "object methods" to distinguish then from "{class methods}". In {Smalltalk}, a method is defined by giving its name, documentation, temporary local variables and a sequence of expressions separated by "."s. (2000-03-22)
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