Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

class method
     
         A kind of {method}, available in some
        {object-oriented programming} languages, that operates on the
        class as a whole, as opposed to an "object method" that
        operates on an object that is an instance of the class.
     
        A typical example of a class method would be one that keeps a
        count of the number of objects of that class that have been
        created.
     
        (2000-03-22)