А в каком же еще смысле можно понимать термин тип
JLS
CHAPTER 4 Types, Values, and Variables
The Java programming language is a strongly typed language, which means that every variable and every expression has a type that is known at compile time. Types limit the values that a variable (§4.12) can hold or that an expression can produce, limit the operations supported on those values, and determine the meaning of the operations. Strong typing helps detect errors at compile time.
The types of the Java programming language are divided into two categories: primitive types and reference types.