Clinical almost always refers a lens that is measurably superior in some way yet with a visible end result that is not as pleasing compared to other alternatives for some other visual reason. It is not restricted to bokeh, it just means that *something* about the image subjectively is not pleasing despite it being technically astute in some way (i.e. sharp), but bokeh is often one of those somethings.
For instance, some of the non-L primes/zooms in Canon's lineup are referred to as "clinical" not necessarily because of just bad bokeh, but instead/also because the color and microcontrast is not as good as some of the L zooms/primes *despite* said non-L measuring well in sharpness. You can measure sharpness, but its hard to measure color rendering and bokeh quality, hence terms like clinical get tossed around when these non-measurable components are less desirable.
This term also is used for audio gear, by the way. When an amplifier or DAC is noted to be "clinical," it means it performs well on the test bench but for some reason the subjective output is not pleasing to the ears (most often referring to harsh treble). It seems "clinical" in both audio/photo cases is associated by users with output that is "sharp" but ultimately less pleasing in non-measurable components than other available alternatives.
Also, re: aspheric elements and over-correction impact on bokeh, Zeiss has a good article on it:
Note this passage:
"The more appealing the blurriness is in the background, the less appealing it is in the foreground. There it often seems harsh and disturbing. It generates swirls of small highlights and
transforms lines into double lines... We must make use of this characteristic moderately with lenses intended for general use and have to limit the spherical under-correction. In any case, we should avoid spherical over-correction. This is not to say that the lens is now better than good -
overcorrection just means that the spherical aberrations now have a different signature. The marginal rays then intersect far behind the focal point of the paraxial rays. The bokeh characteristics are then simply reversed. The foreground characteristics with under-correction are found in the background in case of overcorrection. And because background is almost always more important, it would be the less desired balancing of the lens."
If you go back to that optical limits bokeh review of the RF 85mm, you'll see the bolded Zeiss passage is exactly what is happening!