When did Asian come to mean only certain parts of Asia such as the East?

Question

The word Asian is defined as:

1. adjective
   of, belonging to, or characteristic of Asia or its inhabitants.

or

2. noun
   a native or inhabitant of Asia, or a person of Asian descent.

But typically when we use the word Asian we don’t use it to refer countries in the Middle Eastern, such as Israel and Jordan but associate it with East Asians or South East Asians such as Indians, Koreans etc.

My research says this:

Asian is the most commonly used term referring to people in or from Asia, especially East Asia.

In American English, Oriental as a noun or adjective applied to people is outdated and has become a sensitive term to be avoided. It is associated with a bygone era in which Asians had subordinate status and their culture was perceived as strange and exotic. Also, the origin of the term Oriental represents a Eurocentric view of geography, since the Orient, or East, is east of Europe. However, Oriental is a neutral, inoffensive term when used as an adjective describing Asian culture or things from Asia.

Similarly, the term Asiatic is usually offensive when referring to people, but neutral when referring to Asian culture, animals, etc. Though Asian is an acceptable ethnic designation in most contexts, it is best to be as specific as possible, rather than to group all Asians into a single cultural identity.

In general, people of South, Southeast, and East Asian origin prefer to be identified by their country of origin: for example, Indian, Pakistani, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. The people of the Middle or Near East and Polynesia are not referred to as Asian.

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/asian

Furthermore:

In early Classical times, the Greeks started using the term "Asia" to refer to the whole region known today as Anatolia (the peninsula which forms the Asian portion of present-day Turkey). The Roman Empire referred to the entire Lydian region of what is now northeastern Turkey as the province of Asia. Eventually, however, the name had been stretched progressively further east, until it came to encompass the much larger land area with which we associate it today, while the Anatolian Peninsula started being called "Asia Minor" or "The Lesser Asia" instead.

Source: Wikipedia

1. How did the meaning of “asian” denoting a country or being a resident of a country in the continent in Asia merge to mean that of “oriental” and “asiatic” as above?
2. Is there a “correct” definition?
3. I want etymological-based answers here.
4. Is there a linguistic term for when a single word borrows meanings from other words, like in this case?

Answer 1

As your quote from Wikipedia indicates, the extension of the term "Asia" to the current geographical expanse that is thought of as one of the continents of the world happened a long time ago. In current usage, the noun "Asia" refers to a region of the world that includes both the "Middle East" and the "Far East".

There isn't any etymological basis for giving a narrower sense to "Asian", "Asiatic", "Orient" or "Oriental". "Asian" and "Asiatic" are just adjectives built on the same base as the continent name "Asia", and "Orient" and "Oriental" are just derived from a Latin word meaning "east(ern)". All of these terms have been used to refer to nations and peoples of the Middle East as well as those of East Asia and South Asia.

The distinctions in usage and connotation that have developed between these terms are based on social phenomena, not on etymology. There isn't any single "correct" definition of Asia, Asian, Asiatic, Orient or Oriental because all of these terms refer, not to natural categories of prexisting things, but to made-up concepts that people have thought differently about in different times and places.

Answer 2

Etymonline says:

Asian (n.)

late 14c., "inhabitant of Asia (Minor)," from Latin Asianus (adjective and noun, "belonging to the province of Asia;" "an inhabitant of Asia"), from Greek Asianos "Asiatic," from Asia (see Asia). Ousted Asiatic as the preferred term mid-20c.

The term "Asiatic" has come to be regarded with disfavour by those to whom it is applied, and they feel entitled to be brought into line with usage in regard to Europeans, Americans and Australians.
["Times Literary Supplement," Feb. 6, 1953]

As an adjective in English, "of or pertaining to Asia," from 1560s; common from c. 1930.
Related: Asianic (1879).

Answer 3

I think it started with political correctness as you were kind of inferring. We used to say Oriental to indicate someone from the Orient. Meaning people from areas where the peoples are direct decedents of China, like Japan, Taiwan, Korea. For some reason, people started thinking only "things" could be oriental, like rugs and silk. I've always wondered the same thing. What's offensive in calling a person oriental? It's a very useful term that's more inclusive than a single country, but more concise than an entire continent. And everyone always knew exactly who you were referring to. We've PC'ed ourselves into clunky and awkward discourse. It reminds me of the term African-American, which is fine and inoffensive, but it's only useful in America. I think it came on the heels of Native-American, which makes a lot more sense because before that, we were calling them Indians, which of course was completely wrong and required us to say goofy things like "I meant India Indian". Anyway, there are a lot of people who've realized that "African American" only works in one place when they refer to a black person as African American in another country and then get a response like, "What do you mean, I've never even been to America?"