It actually happened in the 90’s. When Shimano came out with their STI shifters, there needed to be a distinction between the traditional down tube shifters that were just called shifters and the new integrated brake and shifter system.
So you couldn’t call STI levers 8 speed shifters, because there were other 8 speed shifters available. And because they were not just shifters, as noted above, the term brifter was coined. Today the term shifters or road shifters would probably suffice since there are no other road type shifters offered for the current groups.
What is interesting is that when mountain bike trigger shifters came out, the term triggers were used, but that has not stuck over the years, although it is sometimes used, people just talk shifters.
John