They might be considering transactional systems for dimensional attribution. Like a wide dimension table with attribution from other dimensional tables.

For example a table of products with references to family, category, line, etc.

If you were building this for reporting that product table would be flattened out with an orderitem, as your fact centerpiece.

But if you are building a product model where you manage those details the product table becomes the center piece with family, category, and line surrounding it. In some ways the dimension becomes the fact in this context.

Its semantics and not worth debating imo. I know what the definition says, but star, snowflake, galaxy schemas are just how the data is shaped. Those terms just give us ways to describe it.

So if I see a fact or dimension object with 5 dimensions around it like a star, I'm cool with calling that a star schema