Archaic KJV Word
Fellowship
Modern equivalent: church social time
What Was Lost
The shared everything. Acts 2:42-47 describes koinonia in practice: they shared possessions, ate together daily, cared for every need, and held all things in common. Fellowship was not a church potluck but a total sharing of life, resources, sorrows, and joys. Koinonia with God meant participating in God's own life.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
fellowship (still used in church contexts but usually means 'social time' rather than 'shared-everything life')
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Acts 2:42 -- 'They continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship'; 1 John 1:3 -- 'Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son'
Died still used but socialized (~1950)
Greek koinonia ('shared participation/common life/mutual investment of everything/partnership in which nothing is withheld') socialized into 'having snacks after church.' The radical, all-sharing, life-in-common dimension became a social event.
What Replaced It
“socializing”
Casual interaction; koinonia was sharing everything -- possessions, burdens, joys, lives
“community”
Proximity-based; koinonia was an active, costly, mutual investment of entire lives
“hanging out”
Recreational; koinonia was so radical that Acts describes believers selling possessions to share with any in need