The word gravel is marketing. Does anyone really ride actual gravel? Probably not. Super annoying but marketings gonna market.
Personally I mostly ride packed dirt. In the fall there are lots of leaves on the packed dirt. Do I tell my friends I'm going out for a ride on my "packed dirt and sometimes leaves bike"? No. I usually say CX bike because I hate the word gravel. But I will resort to "gravel bike" if I have to.
