early

ear·ly  (ûrl)

adj. ear·li·er, ear·li·est

1. Of or occurring near the beginning of a given series, period of time, or course of events: in the early morning; scored two runs in the early innings.

2.

a. Of or belonging to a previous or remote period of time: the early inhabitants of the British Isles.

b. Of or belonging to an initial stage of development: an early form of life; an early computer.

3. Occurring, developing, or appearing before the expected or usual time: an early spring; an early retirement.

4. Maturing or developing relatively soon: an early variety of tomato.

5. Occurring in the near future: Observers predicted an early end to the negotiations.

adv. ear·lier, ear·liest

1.

a. Near the beginning of a given series, period of time, or course of events: departed early in the day; scored important victories early in the campaign.

b. At or near the beginning of the morning: She never used to get up so early.

2. At or during a remote or initial period: decided very early to go into medicine.

3. Before the expected or usual time: arrived at the meeting a few minutes early.

4. Soon in relation to others of its kind: a rose that was cultivated to bloom early.

Idiom:

early on

At an early stage or point: "Early on, [he] found that being honest and being funny were almost the same thing" Maureen Orth.

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[Middle English erli, from Old English rlce : r, before; see ayer- in Indo-European roots + -lce, adv. suff.; see -ly².]

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earli·ness n.

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early

Adjective

[-lier, -liest]

1. occurring or arriving before the correct or expected time

2. in the first part of a period of time: early April

3. near the beginning of the development or history of something: early Britain was very primitive, early models of this car rust easily

Adverb

1. occurring or arriving before the correct or expected time

2. in the first part of a period of time

3. near the beginning of the development or history of something: early in the war [Old English ǣrlīce]

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	early - 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" first - preceding all others in time or space or degree; "the first house on the right"; "the first day of spring"; "his first political race"; "her first baby"; "the first time"; "the first meetings of the new party"; "the first phase of his training" late - being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time; "late evening"; "late 18th century"; "a late movie"; "took a late flight"; "had a late breakfast" middle - between an earlier and a later period of time; "in the middle years"; "in his middle thirties"
	2.	early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" later, late - at or toward an end or late period or stage of development; "the late phase of feudalism"; "a later symptom of the disease"; "later medical science could have saved the child" later, late - at or toward an end or late period or stage of development; "the late phase of feudalism"; "a later symptom of the disease"; "later medical science could have saved the child"
	3.	early - belonging to the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times" other, former past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
	4.	early - very young; "at an early age" young, immature - (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth; "young people"
	5.	early - 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" linguistics - the scientific study of language late - of a later stage in the development of a language or literature; used especially of dead languages; "Late Greek" middle - of a stage in the development of a language or literature between earlier and later stages; "Middle English is the English language from about 1100 to 1500"; "Middle Gaelic"
	6.	early - expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations" future - yet to be or coming; "some future historian will evaluate him"
Adv.	1.	early - during an early stage; "early on in her career" early on
	2.	early - before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time" ahead of time, too soon belatedly, late, tardily - later than usual or than expected; "the train arrived late"; "we awoke late"; "the children came late to school"; "notice came so tardily that we almost missed the deadline"; "I belatedly wished her a happy birthday"
	3.	early - in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning" betimes

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early

adverb 1. in good time, beforehand, ahead of schedule, in advance, with time to spare, betimes (archaic) << OPPOSITE late

2. too soon, before the usual time, prematurely, ahead of time << OPPOSITE late

adjective 3. first, opening, earliest, initial, introductory

adjective 4. premature, forward, advanced, untimely, unseasonable << OPPOSITE belated

adjective 5. primitive, first, earliest, young, original, undeveloped, primordial, primeval << OPPOSITE developed

Translations

early [ˈəːlɪ] adv (gen) → temprano (= ahead of time); con tiempo, con anticipación

adj (gen) → temprano; [reply] → pronto; [man] → primitivo (= first) [Christians, settlers] → primero;

to have an early night → acostarse temprano;

in the early or early in the spring/19th century → a principios de primavera/del siglo diecinueve;

you're early! → ¡has llegado temprano or pronto!;

early in the morning/afternoon → a primeras horas de la mañana/tarde;

she's in her early forties → tiene poco más de cuarenta años;

at your earliest convenience (COMM) → con la mayor brevedad posible;

I can't come any earlier → no puedo llegar antes

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early [ˈəːlɪ] adv → tôt, de bonne heure (= ahead of time); en avance (= near the beginning); au début

adj → précoce, qui se manifeste (or se fait) tôt or de bonne heure; [Christians, settlers] → premier/ière; [reply] → rapide; [death] → prématuré(e); [work] → de jeunesse;

to have an early night/start → se coucher/partir tôt or de bonne heure;

take the early train → prenez le premier train;

in the early or early in the spring/19th century → au début or commencement du printemps/19ème siècle;

you're early! → tu es en avance!;

early in the morning → tôt le matin;

she's in her early forties → elle a un peu plus de quarante ans or de la quarantaine;

at your earliest convenience (Comm) → dans les meilleurs délais

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early [ˈəːlɪ] adv → früh;

(ahead of time) → zu früh

adj → früh;

(Christians) → Ur-;

(death, departure) → vorzeitig;

(reply) → baldig;

early in the morning → früh am Morgen;

to have an early night → früh ins Bett gehen;

in the early hours → in den frühen Morgenstunden;

in the early or early in the spring/19th century → Anfang des Frühjahrs/des 19. Jahrhunderts;

take the early train → nimm den früheren Zug;

you're early! → Sie sind früh dran!;

she's in her early forties → sie ist Anfang Vierzig;

at your earliest convenience → so bald wie möglich

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early [ˈəːlɪ] adv → presto, di buon'ora (= ahead of time); in anticipo

adj → precoce; anticipato/a; che si fa vedere di buon'ora; [man] → primitivo/a; [Christians, settlers] → primo/a;

early in the morning/afternoon → nelle prime ore del mattino/del pomeriggio;

you're early! → sei in anticipo!;

have an early night/start → vada a letto/parta presto;

in the early or early in the spring/19th century → all'inizio della primavera/dell'Ottocento;

she's in her early forties → ha appena passato la quarantina;

at your earliest convenience (COMM) → non appena possibile