sake

The word 'sake' entered English in the late 17th century as a direct borrowing from Japanese. In Japanese, 'sake' (酒) is the general term for alcoholic beverages, but in English, its meaning narrowed to refer specifically to the traditional Japanese rice wine. The term reflects the global spread of Japanese culture and cuisine. Its adoption into English demonstrates how loanwords often undergo semantic specialization, focusing on a culturally distinct item.

This word is a direct loanword from Japanese. It is not composed of separable English morphemes.