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Selected Entries from the Oxford English Dictionary, Fifteenth Edition (2089)

archive, n. and v.

A. n. 1. Historical. A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people. Obs. exc. hist.

  1. A term of endearment or mild reproach for an elderly person, especially one who remembers the Connected Era (2010–2047). Colloq. "My grandmother's such an archive—she still talks about watching videos on her 'phone.'"
  2. A person considered out of touch with contemporary reality due to excessive nostalgia for digital technology. Derog.

B. v. trans. To dismiss or disregard (a person, idea, or technology) as obsolete. "The council archived the proposal for municipal wifi restoration." —archival, adj.

Usage: The nominal shift from institutional memory to personal epithet occurred rapidly after the Blackout Winter (2046–2047), when the loss of cloud storage systems made the term bitterly ironic. The verbal form emerged among younger speakers circa 2053.

connect, v.

trans. and intr. 1. Historical. To link to a computer network or communications system; to access the internet. Obs.

  1. To physically visit or write a letter to someone; to maintain a relationship through tangible means. "We connect every month—she sends me pressed flowers." Cf. disconnect, v. (to lose contact with).
  2. Eccles. To participate in communal prayer or meditation, especially in the Rewoven Church. "They connect each morning at dawn."

Etymology: The semantic inversion (from virtual to physical contact) represents one of the most complete reversals in modern English. Digital "connection" being impossible after 2047, the term was re-appropriated for its opposite by 2052, led by Rewoven communities emphasizing embodied presence.

glass, n.

  1. A hard, brittle substance, typically transparent or translucent, made by fusing sand with soda and lime.
  2. Historical. A smartphone or tablet computer. Obs. exc. hist. "She kept her mother's glass in a drawer, though it hasn't lit up in forty years."
  3. Something beautiful but permanently broken; a symbol of irretrievable loss. "Their marriage was glass—everyone could see straight through to the cracks." Poetic.

Phrases: behind glass: isolated from genuine human contact. Obs. (2010–2048). to glass: to grieve for the Connected Era. Colloq. "Stop glassing about it; those days are gone." (2055–)

letter, n.

  1. A character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech.
  2. A written, typed, or printed communication, sent in an envelope by post or courier.

Usage: What was once the original meaning (def. 2), fell into disuse (2015–2045), and has now returned as the primary meaning. Annual letter volume in Britain: 23 million (2015), 180,000 (2044), 890 million (2087). The National Postal Service reports that letter-writing is now the third-most common hobby after gardening and woodwork.

memory, n.

  1. The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.
  2. Computing, obs. Storage capacity in a digital device. "The computer has 256 gigabytes of memory."
  3. Something that exists only in recollection, with no physical evidence. "The cloud is just memory now—millions of photos, gone like dreams."
  4. Philos. and Psych. The collective trauma of information loss experienced by the Blackout Generation. Often cap. "She suffers from Memory—wakes up convinced her children's baby pictures still exist somewhere."

Phrases: Memory sickness: a psychological condition characterized by obsessive searching for lost digital content. First diagnosed 2051. To carry memory: to bear the burden of the Connected Era. "My father carries memory heavily; he weeps whenever we mention music."

phone, n.

Historical. 1. A device used for voice communication over a distance. 2. A mobile computing device used for communication, photography, entertainment, and information access (2007–2047). "Before the Silence, everyone had a phone in their pocket."

Etymology: From Greek phōnē, meaning "voice" or "sound." The tragic irony that the device became primarily non-vocal (text, images, apps) in its final decades is frequently noted by sociolinguists.

Usage: Among the Rewoven Church, the term has become nearly sacred, used in liturgy to represent humanity's hubris. "We built phones and forgot how to speak to each other; we built clouds and forgot the sky."

real, adj. and adv.

A. adj. 1. Actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.

  1. New sense. Material, corporeal, tangible; capable of being touched. "Is that a real book or a memory of one?" This usage has intensified since 2047, distinguishing physical objects from recalled digital content.
  2. Rewoven usage. Blessed by presence and proximity; spiritually authentic through embodiment. "The most real thing is another person's hand in yours."

B. adv. (Also really.) Very; extremely. "That sermon was real moving."

Usage: The philosophical weight of this word has increased dramatically. The question "Is it real?" now carries existential significance, particularly for those who lost family photographs, writing, or creative work in the Blackout.

rewoven, adj. and n.

A. adj. 1. Woven again; repaired by weaving.

  1. Theol. Of or pertaining to the Rewoven Church or its beliefs; emphasizing physical community, embodied practice, and rejection of digital mediation. "They held a rewoven ceremony—everyone brought something handmade."

B. n. A member of the Rewoven Church. "She's a rewoven now, lives in one of those intentional villages."

Etymology: From the movement's founding text, The Rewoven World (2051), by former software engineer Miriam Okafor: "The fabric of community was torn by screens. We must reweave it with our hands, our voices, our presence."

Usage: What began as a fringe movement has become Britain's fastest-growing religious community, with an estimated 12 million adherents (2087 census). Notable for their distinctive practices: mandatory daily handwork (weaving, pottery, woodcarving), letter-writing circles, and "presence hours" of face-to-face conversation without time limits.

screen, n. and v.

A. n. 1. A fixed or movable upright partition used to divide a room.

  1. Historical. The surface of an electronic device on which images and data are displayed. "She remembered when every room had screens—walls of light that showed other places." Obs. exc. hist.
  2. A barrier between people; emotional or social distance. Colloq. "Even sitting next to each other, they had a screen between them." (2055–)
  3. Med. A filtering membrane used in traditional medicine. (resurgent usage)

B. v. trans. To conceal or protect. Also fig.: to maintain emotional distance. "He screens himself from real intimacy."

Etymology: The nominal dominance of the technological sense (A.2) from 1990–2047 was so complete that younger speakers (b. 2048–) often express surprise that "screen" once referred to physical objects.

silence, n.

  1. Complete absence of sound.
  2. With capital initial. The period beginning March 2047 when electromagnetic interference from the Cascade Event rendered all wireless communication and most digital infrastructure permanently inoperable; the end of the Connected Era. "Everything changed during the Silence." Cf. the Blackout, the Cascade, the Unwiring.

Phrases: Before the Silence: referring to the Connected Era (2010–2047). After the Silence: the contemporary period. Children of Silence: those born 2047 onwards, who have no memory of digital technology. Silence Shock: the collective psychological trauma of sudden, total disconnection.

Usage: Though the phenomenon itself involved catastrophic electromagnetic disruption rather than absence of sound, the metaphorical weight of lost communication pathways led to this term's dominance over more technical alternatives.

together, adv. and adj.

A. adv. 1. With or in proximity to another person or people. "We sat together on the porch."

  1. New intensive sense. In the same physical space, with sustained attention and presence. "They were really together—no books, no distractions, just talking." (2053–)

B. adj. predicative. In an intimate relationship; married or partnered. [No change.]

Usage: Pre-Silence (before 2047), "together" often described people in the same location while attending to separate digital devices. Post-Silence, the word has regained intensity, implying undivided attention. Linguistic scholars note this represents a return to pre-digital semantic weight.

Comparative: The phrase "alone together" (common 2010–2047, describing physical proximity with digital distraction) is now used exclusively in historical contexts or to evoke pathos.

write, v.

trans. and intr. 1. Mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement.

  1. Historical. To compose (a text) by typing on a keyboard or touchscreen. Obs.
  2. To compose anything—letter, story, diary entry—by hand. "I write to my sister every week; it takes me an evening, but she says she can hear my voice in the loops of the letters."

Usage: The muscle memory of handwriting, nearly lost among the Blackout Generation (b. 1985–2040), has returned with religious fervor among younger cohorts. Primary schools report that children now learn cursive before print, reversing a trend that dominated 2000–2045.

Phrases: to write someone into your life: to maintain intimate correspondence with them. Colloq. "I'm writing him into my life—three letters so far this month." (2060–) written in hand: authentic, trustworthy. "That promise was written in hand, so I know she meant it." (2065–)

Editor's Note: This edition represents the first complete lexicographical survey of the Post-Silence Period (2047–present). The editorial board acknowledges that many entries reflect ongoing semantic instability as the language continues to adapt to material conditions unimaginable to our predecessors. We have endeavored to capture not merely definitions, but the shape of loss and recovery in the words themselves.

— Oxford, May 2089

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    Oxford English Dictionary 2089: Post-Silence Entries | Claude