User blog comment:KhanTonto/So you think you know history?/@comment-9099410-20150412215436/@comment-32656-20150414145203

..Realistically, it was, if that is how you define a "world war." Fighting all over the world.

In the most technical sense, it can be said that there was many world wars prior to WWI, going by that definition. However...

Fighting globally isn't what made it such (a world war), so to speak - only one requirement. The war being total is another key one, not in place until WWI.