Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Method \Meth"od\, n. [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.

   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 sec?re 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.

Source : WordNet®

method
     n : a way of doing something, especially a systematic way;
         implies an orderly logical arrangement (usually in steps)

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

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)