Adjacent Words

Early definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EARLY, a. er'ly. [Eng.ere.]
1. In advance of something else; prior in time; forward; as early fruit, that is, fruit that comes to maturity before other fruit; early growth; early manhood; early old age or decrepitude, that is, premature old age. So an early spring; an early harvest.
2. First; being at the beginning; as early dawn.
3. Being in good season; as, the court met at an early hour.
EARLY, adv. er'ly. Soon; in good season; betimes; as, rise early; come early; begin early to instill into children principles of piety.
Those who seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties" [ant: late, middle]
2: being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" [ant: late, later]
3: belonging to the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times" [syn: early, former, other]
4: very young; "at an early age"
5: of an early stage in the development of a language or literature; "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."; "Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700" [ant: late, middle]
6: expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations" adv
1: during an early stage; "early on in her career" [syn: early on, early]
2: before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time" [syn: early, ahead of time, too soon] [ant: belatedly, late, tardily]
3: in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning" [syn: early, betimes]

Merriam Webster's

biographical name Jubal Anderson 1816-1894 American Confederate general

Merriam Webster's

I. adverb (earlier; -est) Etymology: Middle English erly, from Old English ?rl?ce, from ?r early, soon — more at ere Date: before 12th century 1. a. near the beginning of a period of time <awoke early in the morning> b. near the beginning of a course, process, or series <early in his senatorial career> 2. a. before the usual or expected time <the train arrived early> b. archaic soon c. sooner than related forms <these apples bear early> II. adjective (earlier; -est) Date: 13th century 1. a. of, relating to, or occurring near the beginning of a period of time, a development, or a series <in the early evening> <the early symptoms of the disease> b. (1) distant in past time (2) primitive <early tools> 2. a. occurring before the usual or expected time <an early arrival> b. occurring in the near future <at your earliest convenience> c. maturing or producing sooner than related forms <an early peach> • earliness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., adv., & n. --adj. & adv. (earlier, earliest) 1 before the due, usual, or expected time (was early for my appointment; the train arrived early). 2 a not far on in the day or night, or in time (early evening; at the earliest opportunity). b prompt (early payment appreciated; at your earliest convenience). 3 a not far on in a period, development, or process of evolution; being the first stage (Early English architecture; the early Christians; early Spring). b of the distant past (early man). c not far on in a sequence or serial order (the early chapters; appears early in the list). 4 a of childhood, esp. the preschool years (early learning). b (of a piece of writing, music, etc.) immature, youthful (an early work). 5 forward in flowering, ripening, etc. (early peaches). --n. (pl. -ies) (usu. in pl.) an early fruit or vegetable, esp. potatoes. Phrases and idioms: at the earliest (often placed after a specified time) not before (will arrive on Monday at the earliest). early bird colloq. one who arrives, gets up, etc. early. early closing Brit. the shutting of business premises on the afternoon of one particular day of the week. early days early in time for something to happen etc. early grave an untimely or premature death. early hours the very early morning, usu. before dawn. early (or earlier) on at an early (or earlier) stage. early warning advance warning of an imminent (esp. nuclear) attack. Derivatives: earliness n. Etymology: orig. as adv., f. OE ærlice, arlice (ær ERE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Early Ear"ly ([~e]r"l[y^]), adv. [OE. erli, erliche, AS. [=ae]rl[=i]ce; [=ae]r sooner + l[=i]c like. See Ere, and Like.] Soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early. Those that me early shall find me. --Prov. viii. 17. You must wake and call me early. --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Early Ear"ly, a. [Compar. Earlier ([~e]r"l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. Earliest.] [OE. earlich. [root]204. See Early, adv.] 1. In advance of the usual or appointed time; in good season; prior in time; among or near the first; -- opposed to late; as, the early bird; an early spring; early fruit. Early and provident fear is the mother of safety. --Burke. The doorsteps and threshold with the early grass springing up about them. --Hawthorne. 2. Coming in the first part of a period of time, or among the first of successive acts, events, etc. Seen in life's early morning sky. --Keble. The forms of its earlier manhood. --Longfellow. The earliest poem he composed was in his seventeenth summer. --J. C. Shairp. Early English (Philol.) See the Note under English. Early English architecture, the first of the pointed or Gothic styles used in England, succeeding the Norman style in the 12th and 13th centuries. Syn: Forward; timely; not late; seasonable.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(earlier, earliest) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Early means before the usual time that a particular event or activity happens. I knew I had to get up early... Why do we have to go to bed so early? ? late ADV: ADV after v • Early is also an adjective. I decided that I was going to take early retirement... I planned an early night. ADJ: ADJ n 2. Early means near the beginning of a day, week, year, or other period of time. ...in the 1970s and the early 1980s. ...a few weeks in early summer... She was in her early teens. ...the early hours of Saturday morning. ? late ADJ: ADJ n • Early is also an adverb. We'll hope to see you some time early next week. ...early in the season. ADV: ADV with cl, ADV n/prep 3. Early means before the time that was arranged or expected. She arrived early to secure a place at the front... The first snow came a month earlier than usual. ? late ADV: ADV after v • Early is also an adjective. I'm always early. ADJ 4. Early means near the beginning of a period in history, or in the history of something such as the world, a society, or an activity. ...the early stages of pregnancy. ...Fassbinder's early films... It's too early to declare his efforts a success. ADJ: ADJ n 5. Early means near the beginning of something such as a piece of work or a process. ...the book's early chapters. ADJ: ADJ n • Early is also an adverb. ...an incident which occurred much earlier in the game. ADV: ADV with cl, ADV prep 6. Early refers to plants which flower or crop before or at the beginning of the main season. ...these early cabbages and cauliflowers. ADJ: ADJ n • Early is also an adverb. ...early flowering shrubs. ADV: ADV with v 7. Early reports or indications of something are the first reports or indications about it. (FORMAL) The early indications look encouraging... ADJ: ADJ n 8. You can use as early as to emphasize that a particular time or period is surprisingly early. Inflation could fall back into single figures as early as this month. PHRASE: PHR n [emphasis] 9. If you say about something that might be true that it is early days, you mean that it is too soon for you to be completely sure about it. (INFORMAL) PHRASE: V inflects

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ur'-li (orthros, and related words; proi):

The word generally refers to the day, and means the hour of dawn or soon after (Ge 19:2; 2Ch 36:15; Ho 6:4; Lu 24:22). Sometimes it refers to the beginning of the season, eg. the early rain (Ps 84:6; Jas 5:7; see RAIN). It may also have the sense of "speedily" (Ps 46:5). The early morning is frequently commended as the hour for prayer. See examples of Jesus (Mr 1:35; Lu 21:38; Joh 8:2); also Abraham (Ge 19:27), Jacob (Ge 28:18), Gideon (Jud 6:38), Samuel(1Sa 15:12), David (1Sa 17:20).

G. H. Gerberding

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Timely, seasonable, in season. 2. Forward, premature. 3. At dawn, at daybreak, at the opening of day. II. ad. Soon, betimes, seasonably, in good season, in good time.

Foolish Dictionary

A title of stupidity. See old saw, "Early to bed and early to rise, Makes a man a farmer!"

Moby Thesaurus

a priori, advanced, ages ago, ahead, ahead of time, already, anachronistic, ancient, anciently, antecedent, antedated, antediluvian, anterior, anticipative, anticipatory, antiquated, antique, away back, back, backward, before, before all, beforehand, beforetime, beginning, behind time, behindhand, betimes, bright and early, ci-devant, dated, earlier, elder, ere, ere then, erenow, erstwhile, ex post facto, first, fore, foredated, foregoing, forehand, forehanded, foresighted, foresightedly, former, formerly, heretofore, hitherto, immemorial, in advance, in ancient times, in anticipation, in good time, in olden times, in times past, inappropriate, initial, initially, inopportune, into the past, late, long ago, long since, metachronistic, misdated, mistimed, of old, of yore, old, olden, older, once, onetime, or ever, original, originally, out of date, out of season, overdue, oversoon, parachronistic, past, past due, pioneer, postdated, preceding, precipitant, precocious, precociously, precurrent, preexistent, prehistoric, premature, prematurely, prevenient, previous, previously, primal, prime, primeval, primitive, primordial, prior, priorly, pristine, prochronistic, quondam, recent, retroactive, retrospective, seasonably, senior, some time ago, some time back, sometime, soon, tardy, then, theretofore, timely, unanticipated, unexpected, unpunctual, unseasonable, untimely, years ago, yet