At the point where we are calling things that compile to assembly "transpilers" I don't think there is any distinction left, much less a useful one. I mean the classic notion of a compiler is a program that turns things into assembly, which is then taken into machine code by an assembler.
I agree with you that we've lost though: no amount of protest is going to make people stop using the word "transpiler".
I agree with you that we've lost though: no amount of protest is going to make people stop using the word "transpiler".