World War I

The term world war was first coined in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel. He claimed that "there is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ..... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word," citing a wire service report in The Indianapolis Star on 20 September 1914.

Prior to World War II, the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply the World War.[10][11] In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as "the war to end war" or "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. After World War II began in 1939, the terms became more standard, with British Empire historians, including Canadians, favouring "The First World War" and Americans "World War I".