Were Germany's large torpedo boats really destroyers?

Were Germany's large torpedo boats really destroyers, and did the distinction matter?

On the distinction proposed here, they remained torpedo boats when torpedoes dominated the design; destroyers gave guns a greater role alongside them.

The proposed distinction between a large torpedo boat and a destroyer is the emphasis placed on gun armament. A torpedo boat is built around torpedoes as its dominant weapon. A period destroyer gives guns and torpedoes a more balanced relationship, with torpedoes first among equals. On that definition, increasing a torpedo boat's size does not automatically make it a destroyer.