Of course not.
What I am saying is that the word hasn't lost its original meaning with regard to beer, at least not in Austria.
Furthermore, wheats are a bit different. Everyone knows what a wheat beer is and will refer to it as such.
What I am saying is that if you were to visit Austria, go somewhere they serve more than one kind of beer, and order a Hellesbeir I can pretty much guarantee you'll be served a pale lager, and most likely, a Märzen (Austrian Märzen is lighter in color and body than its German counterpart).
Edit: It helps to bear in mind just how regional beers in Germany and Austria really are. Hefeweizens and Munich Helles are both products of Bavaria. It can be difficult to find them elsewhere, like in Austria. Order a helles outside of the region that produces the Munich Helles, and I'd suspect the person you're talking to would assume you mean 'light' as opposed to the specific Bavarian style. I know this is the case in Austria, and suspect it to be the case in portions of Germany as well.
Like I said, it just depends who you ask.
Cheers!