Semi-automatic fire, burst fire, and loose terminology

Is 'semi-automatic machine gun' an accurate description?

The technical description is challenged: semi-automatic fire means one round per trigger pull, while the phrase is defended only as a personal choice of wording.

The phrase 'semi-automatic machine gun' prompts corrections because a semi-automatic rifle fires one round for each pull of the trigger. Burst fire is also distinguished from semi-automatic fire. Clarke acknowledges the technical terminology but explains his phrase as a personal description of weapons that seem designed around multiple shots and then restricted, rather than developed from single-shot operation. His greater familiarity with bolt-action and single-shot weapons helps explain that preference. The exchange separates a personal impression of a weapon's design from the firing mode described by its technical name.