Archaic KJV Word
Edify
Modern equivalent: build up
What Was Lost
Paul's deliberate building metaphor: the church is a structure being constructed, and every member's contribution either adds load-bearing walls or weakens the building. Edification was architectural -- you were literally building the house of God with your words and actions.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
edify (still used in church contexts but understood as 'teach' rather than 'build')
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV 1 Corinthians 14:12 -- 'Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church'
Died ~1900
Shifted from 'build up' (Latin aedificare 'to build a house') to 'instruct/enlighten,' losing the architectural metaphor that Paul deliberately employed.
What Replaced It
“build up”
Literal but lacks the specialized sense of constructing a spiritual community
“instruct”
Intellectual only; edify meant constructing character and community, not just transferring information
“encourage”
Emotional only; edify meant adding structural substance to someone's faith