Why is cooking a food item method called different things by what the item is, or what is the criteria?
On the Food network they boil potatoes, but they poach carrots.
They poach turkey, but they boil eggs.
They sauté' onions, but they fry eggs in the same pan.
Likewise, they fry hash browns, but they sauté' onions in the same pan before adding the potatoes.
Poaching is cooking in hot liquid, but the liquid is not boiling or even simmering, so it is a lower temp than both.
Saute generally means you're using a small amount of oil/fat and stirring/tossing the food to spread the oil/fat around on everything while cooking everything. Pan frying generally means you're cooking a larger piece of something and not tossing it around.