Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - technique

 noun  Etymology: French, from ~ technical, from Greek technikos  Date: 1817  1. the manner in which technical details are treated (as by a writer) or basic physical movements are used (as by a dancer); also ability to treat such details or use such movements good piano ~  2.  a. a body of technical methods (as in a craft or in scientific research)  b. a method of accomplishing a desired aim