Archaic KJV Word
Miracle
Modern equivalent: supernatural event
What Was Lost
The sign function. John called Jesus's miracles 'signs' because they pointed beyond themselves. Turning water to wine was not a party trick but a sign that the messianic banquet had arrived. Healing the blind was not just compassion but a sign that the age of restoration had begun. Every miracle was a preview of the renewed creation.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
sign (used in John's Gospel but most readers still think 'miraculous spectacle')
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV John 2:11 -- 'This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory'
Died still used but spectacle-ized (~1800)
Greek semeion ('sign pointing to deeper reality'), dynamis ('power/mighty work'), and teras ('wonder') were collapsed into one English word and reduced to 'supernatural spectacle.' The sign function -- pointing beyond itself to the character of God -- was lost.
What Replaced It
“supernatural event”
Category of occurrence; miracles were signs pointing to who God is and what His kingdom looks like
“wonder”
Emotional response; miracles were demonstrations of kingdom reality breaking into the present
“magic”
Power display; miracles were purposeful signs revealing God's character and intent