from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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2. Orderly arrangement, elucidation, development, or
classification; clear and lucid exhibition; systematic
arrangement peculiar to an individual.
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Though this be madness, yet there's method in it.
--Shak.
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All method is a rational progress, a progress toward
an end. --Sir W.
Hamilton.
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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 Linnaean method.
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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.
[1913 Webster] Methodic