There are many words in English that are borrowed from other languages, but acquire a much more specific meaning along the way.
For example, salsa in Spanish simply means "sauce", and could be equally well applied to Hollandaise sauce or soy sauce. But in (US) English, salsa always refers to a particular style of spicy sauce, usually based on tomatoes, onions and chili peppers, that is common in (pseudo-)Mexican cuisine.
Likewise, raisin is French for "grape", but in English always means a dried grape.
(Actually, most of the examples that come to my mind involve food.)
- Does this phenomenon have a name? Where could I read more about it?
- Are there examples of this happening to English words borrowed by other languages?