Archaic KJV Word
Remnant
Modern equivalent: leftover piece
What Was Lost
The seed theology. The remnant was not the leftovers but the seed -- the tiny, preserved group through whom God would restore everything. Like Noah's family, the remnant carried the future. When nearly everything was destroyed, God ensured a remnant survived because they were the acorn from which a new forest would grow.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
remnant (still used theologically but few people know what it means)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Isaiah 10:21 -- 'The remnant shall return'; Romans 11:5 -- 'There is a remnant according to the election of grace'
Died still used but textile-ized (~1900)
Hebrew sheerith ('the surviving fragment/the preserved seed/those who remain after catastrophic judgment') reduced to 'leftover fabric.' The theology of preservation through destruction was lost to the clearance rack.
What Replaced It
“leftovers”
Discarded remainder; the remnant was the preserved, chosen, purposeful survivors
“survivors”
Accident of luck; the remnant was deliberately preserved by God for future purpose
“remainder”
Mathematical leftover; the remnant was the seed of future restoration