earlier

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

ear·ly

(ûr′lē)

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.

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: hoped for an early end to the negotiations.

adv. ear·lier, ear·liest

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 in the movie, the main character loses his job.

[Middle English erli, from Old English ǣrlīce : ǣr, before; see ayer- in Indo-European roots + -līce, adv. suff.; see -ly².]

ear′li·ness n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	earlier - (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early; "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera" earliest comparative, comparative degree - the comparative form of an adjective or adverb; "`faster' is the comparative of the adjective `fast'"; "`less famous' is the comparative degree of the adjective `famous'"; "`more surely' is the comparative of the adverb `surely'" 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"
Adv.	1.	earlier - earlier in time; previously; "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier" before
	2.	earlier - comparatives of `soon' or `early'; "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected" sooner
	3.	earlier - before now; "why didn't you tell me in the first place?" in the first place, to begin with, in the beginning, originally

earlier

adverb

1. before, previously For reasons mentioned earlier, I will not be able to attend.

adjective previous, former, past, prior, preceding Earlier reports of gunshots have not been confirmed.

earlier

adjective

1. Going before:

advance, antecedent, anterior, precedent, preceding, previous, prior.

2. Just gone by or elapsed:

antecedent, anterior, foregoing, former, past, precedent, preceding, previous, prior.

adverb

1. At a time in the past:

already, before, erstwhile, formerly, once, previously.

Archaic: aforetime, beforetime.

2. Up to this time:

before, heretofore, previously, yet.

3. Until then:

before, beforehand.

Translations

مُبَكِّراً

dříve

tidligere

eher früher vormalig

νωρίτερα

antes más temprano

aikaisemmin

antérieurement auparavant devant jadis plus tôt

ranije

ancor prima anteriore anteriormente

前に

더 일찍

tidigare

ก่อนหน้านั้น

daha önce

sớm hơn

较早前

earlier

[ˈɜː^rliə^r]

adj comparative

(= previous) [meeting] → précédent(e); [edition, report, idea] → antérieur(e)
at an earlier date → à une date antérieure

(= not so late) [time] → plus tôt

adv

(= not so late) → plus tôt
I ought to get up earlier → Je devrais me lever plus tôt.
I can't come any earlier → Je ne peux pas venir plus tôt.
earlier than → plus tôt que
She left earlier than us → Elle est partie plus tôt que nous.

(= some time ago) → tout à l'heure
I saw him earlier → Je l'ai vu tout à l'heure.
earlier this year → plus tôt dans l'année

earlier

adj comp of early → früher; in earlier times → früher, in vergangenen Zeiten; at an earlier date → früher, eher; in his/her earlier years he/she had … → in jüngeren Jahren hatte er/sie …; her earlier dislike gave way to hatred → aus ihrer anfänglichen Abneigung wurde Hass

adv earlier (on) → früher; (= just now) → vorhin; earlier (on) in the novel → an einer früheren Stelle in dem Roman; this is what we talked about earlier (on) → darüber haben wir vorhin schon gesprochen; her parents had died four years earlier → ihre Eltern waren vier Jahre früher or vorher or zuvor gestorben; earlier (on) today → heute (vor einigen Stunden); earlier (on) this month/year → früher in diesem Monat/in diesem Jahr; I cannot do it earlier than Thursday → ich kann es nicht vor Donnerstag or eher als Donnerstag machen

earlier

→ مُبَكِّراً dříve tidligere früher νωρίτερα antes, más temprano aikaisemmin plus tôt ranije anteriormente 前に 더 일찍 vroeger tidligere wcześniej antecipadamente раньше tidigare ก่อนหน้านั้น daha önce sớm hơn 较早前

I'd rather have an earlier flight (US)
I would prefer an earlier flight (UK) → Chtěl bych časnější let → Jeg foretrækker et tidligere fly → Haluaisin aikaisemman lennon → Je préférerais un vol plus tôt → Više mi odgovara raniji let → Vorrei un volo che parta prima → Ik heb liever een eerdere vlucht → Jeg vil gjerne ha et tidligere fly → Wolałbymwybrać lot wcześniejszy → Eu preferiria um vôo mais cedo → Daha erken bir uçak tercih ederim → 我想乘坐早一点的航班

earlier

adj & adv (comp de early) más temprano; to go to bed earlier..acostarse más temprano

References in classic literature ?

Remember that as surely as we one day swung down out of the trees and walked upright, just as surely, on a far earlier day, did we crawl up out of the sea and achieve our first adventure on land."

View in context

In the earlier epochs of history, we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold gradation of social rank.

View in context

The modified offspring from the later and more highly improved branches in the lines of descent, will, it is probable, often take the place of, and so destroy, the earlier and less improved branches: this is represented in the diagram by some of the lower branches not reaching to the upper horizontal lines.

View in context

(7) The original editions and Hawksworth's have Rotherhith here, though earlier in the work, Redriff is said to have been Gulliver's home in England.

View in context

My ardor for Shakespeare must have been at its height when I was between sixteen and seventeen years old, for I fancy when I began to formulate my admiration, and to try to measure his greatness in phrases, I was less simply impassioned than at some earlier time.

View in context

In the traditional conception, a particular event A caused a particular event B, and by this it was implied that, given any event B, some earlier event A could be discovered which had a relation to it, such that--

View in context

6 Many of them again are of later origin, and are to be traced to the monks of the middle ages: and yet this collection, though thus made up of fables both earlier and later than the era of Aesop, rightfully bears his name, because he composed so large a number (all framed in the same mould, and conformed to the same fashion, and stamped with the same lineaments, image, and superscription) as to secure to himself the right to be considered the father of Greek fables, and the founder of this class of writing, which has ever since borne his name, and has secured for him, through all succeeding ages, the position of the first of moralists.7

View in context

He came in earlier than was expected, and seemed upset about something.

View in context

The final working over of the poem into its present shape, as has been said, probably took place in England in the seventh or eighth century; in earlier form, perhaps in the original brief ballads, it may have been brought to the country either by the Anglo-Saxons or by stray 'Danes.' It is fundamentally a heathen work, and certain Christian ideas which have been inserted here and there, such as the mention of Cain as the ancestor of Grendel, and the disparagement of heathen gods, merely show that one of the later poets who had it in hand was a Christian.

View in context

The claim to Comedy is put forward by the Megarians,--not only by those of Greece proper, who allege that it originated under their democracy, but also by the Megarians of Sicily, for the poet Epicharmus, who is much earlier than Chionides and Magnes, belonged to that country.

View in context

It seems to be distinctly earlier than the "Theogony", which refers to it, apparently, as a poem already renowned.

View in context

To pass from the Characters to the Story, it will be seen that the narrative related in these pages has been constructed on a plan which differs from the plan followed in my last novel, and in some other of my works published at an earlier date.