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.
[1913 Webster]
Early and provident fear is the mother of safety.
--Burke.
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The doorsteps and threshold with the early grass
springing up about them. --Hawthorne.
[1913 Webster]
2. Coming in the first part of a period of time, or among the
first of successive acts, events, etc.
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Seen in life's early morning sky. --Keble.
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The forms of its earlier manhood. --Longfellow.
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The earliest poem he composed was in his seventeenth
summer. --J. C.
Shairp.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Early \Ear"ly\ ([~e]r"l[y^]), adv. [OE. erli, erliche, AS.
[=ae]rl[imac]ce; [=ae]r sooner + l[imac]c like. See Ere,
and Like.]
Soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early.
[1913 Webster]
Those that me early shall find me. --Prov. viii.
17.
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You must wake and call me early. --Tennyson.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
early
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: middle, late]
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]
3: of the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe";
"former generations"; "in other times" [syn: early(a), former(a),
other(a)]
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: middle, late]
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]
2: before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated
early"; "the house was completed ahead of time" [syn: ahead
of time, too soon] [ant: late]
3: in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning" [syn: betimes]
[also: earliest, earlier]
WordNet (r) 2.0
129 Moby Thesaurus words for "early":
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
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
Early, IA (city, FIPS 23475)
Location: 42.46087 N, 95.15252 W
Population (1990): 649 (298 housing units)
Area: 1.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 50535
Early, TX (city, FIPS 21904)
Location: 31.74452 N, 98.94073 W
Population (1990): 2380 (992 housing units)
Area: 6.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 76801
U.S. Gazetteer (1990)
Early -- U.S. County in Georgia
Population (2000): 12354
Housing Units (2000): 5338
Land area (2000): 511.232451 sq. miles (1324.085913 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 5.038120 sq. miles (13.048671 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 516.270571 sq. miles (1337.134584 sq. km)
Located within: Georgia (GA), FIPS 13
Location: 31.311249 N, 84.936136 W
Headwords:
Early
Early, GA
Early County
Early County, GA
U.S. Gazetteer Counties (2000)
Early, IA -- U.S. city in Iowa
Population (2000): 605
Housing Units (2000): 293
Land area (2000): 0.394821 sq. miles (1.022582 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.394821 sq. miles (1.022582 sq. km)
FIPS code: 23475
Located within: Iowa (IA), FIPS 19
Location: 42.461903 N, 95.151290 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 50535
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Early, IA
Early
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)
Early, TX -- U.S. city in Texas
Population (2000): 2588
Housing Units (2000): 1080
Land area (2000): 2.567012 sq. miles (6.648529 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 2.567012 sq. miles (6.648529 sq. km)
FIPS code: 21904
Located within: Texas (TX), FIPS 48
Location: 31.744601 N, 98.941171 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 76801
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Early, TX
Early
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)
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