Yup, it’s the same underlying phenomenon - as maize becomes the prototypical non-wheat cereal grain for plenty speakers, they eventually repurpose the word “corn” to mean exclusively “maize”. (British dialects are the exception that prove the rule, as maize isn’t so prevalent in the islands.)
This doesn’t happen just with crops, mind you - even animals get this treatment. Guarani “jagua” for example went from “hunting beast, specially jaguar” to “dog”, while Navajo “łį́į́ʼ” went from “pet, livestock, specially dog” to “horse”.
Yup, it’s the same underlying phenomenon - as maize becomes the prototypical non-wheat cereal grain for plenty speakers, they eventually repurpose the word “corn” to mean exclusively “maize”. (British dialects are the exception that prove the rule, as maize isn’t so prevalent in the islands.)
This doesn’t happen just with crops, mind you - even animals get this treatment. Guarani “jagua” for example went from “hunting beast, specially jaguar” to “dog”, while Navajo “łį́į́ʼ” went from “pet, livestock, specially dog” to “horse”.