Lexical Drift Registry
Client Statement
"I am here because I used a word recently that I thought I understood, and the person I said it to understood something completely different. This was not a translation issue. We were both speaking the same language. I looked it up afterward and the dictionary agreed with me. But the dictionary is not what I mean anymore. I want to know if that is normal. I want to know if it can be fixed."
Word Assessment (client-completed, initial interview)
Original sense: Prepared. Sufficient. Having what is needed.
Current sense: The state just before the state you cannot return from.
Client note: "I stopped being able to use it in ordinary sentences about four years ago. My partner says I am ready for things I am clearly not ready for. They mean it as encouragement. I hear something I cannot answer."
Original sense: Temporary delay. Expectation. Deferral.
Current sense: A form of trust extended without guarantee of return.
Client note: "My partner says they are waiting too. I do not think we mean the same thing."
Original sense: Sufficient. Adequate. The correct quantity.
Current sense: What remains when there is nothing left to hold.
Client note: "This one I cannot explain further."
Intake Specialist Notes
Client presents as self-aware and precise. First visit; came voluntarily; no legal referral. Primary concern is interpersonal. Asked whether client would like their partner invited to a joint session. Client: "Not yet."
Drift 5 on "ready" at first visit is uncommon. This does not indicate pathology. It indicates a word that has completed its personal evolution and can no longer serve double duty. A Drift 5 word is available for private use; it is not available for ordinary exchange without negotiation.
The client's mapping of "enough" (Drift 4) may complicate communications in close relationships in ways the client has not yet identified. Note for follow-up.
Recommendation
Refer to Convergence Track B (partial). The goal is not to reverse the drift. The goal is to make the drift legible to the people in proximity to it.
Lexical Drift Registry · Voluntary Self-Assessment · Form LDR-A1, Third Revision
This form is a record of subjective semantic experience. It is not a diagnostic instrument. Drift ratings are assigned by the client, not the Registry.