Sense file
How the sense moved
The archive follows the dated record first, then reads the social or rhetorical pressure that hardened, softened, narrowed, or reversed the word.
Older meaning
A fine twisted cord or strand.
Modern meaning
A line of discussion, replies, or connected posts; also a fine twisted filament.
Research lens
A strong continuity metaphor: once a thread could stand for what runs through a whole work, software hardly had to strain the image.
Meaning trail
Root
twisted strand
Twisting and continuity shape the old word.
Bridge
line running through something
The figurative line was established before the internet.
Now
linked discussion
Digital conversation inherited the woven-line metaphor.