The term doesn't change its meaning because something new comes along.

The point of the term "large" is to highlight the massive parameter count (compared to traditional statistical models, where having 1.5 billion parameters was basically unheard of). It leads to the "double decent" phenomenon that allows them to generalize in ways traditional statistical models can't.

The idea that the "large" descriptor was just a subjective exclamation, like "oh wow this model is pretty large ain't it", is revisionism.