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Webster 1913 Edition


Early

Ear′ly

(ẽr′ly̆)
,
adv.
[OE.
erli
,
erliche
, AS.
ǣrlīce
;
ǣr
sooner +
līc
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.

Ear′ly

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Earlier
(ẽr′lĭ-ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Earliest
.]
[OE.
earlich
. √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.
Syn. – Forward; timely; not late; seasonable.

Webster 1828 Edition


Early

EARLY

,
Adj.
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. Prov.8.

Definition 2024


early

early

English

Adjective

early (comparative earlier, superlative earliest)

  1. At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.
    • 2013 June 29, High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
      Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
    at eleven, we went for an early lunch;  she began reading at an early age;  his mother suffered an early death
  2. Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.
    You're early today! I don't usually see you before nine o'clock.
    The early guests sipped their punch and avoided each other's eyes.
  3. Near the start or beginning.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
    • 2013 July 20, The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.
    The play "Two Gentlemen of Verona" is one of Shakespeare's early works.
    Early results showed their winning 245 out of 300 seats in parliament. The main opponent locked up only 31 seats.
  4. Having begun to occur; in its early stages.
    early cancer

Synonyms

  • (at a time in advance of the usual): premature
  • (near the start): first

Antonyms

  • (at a time in advance of the usual): late
  • (illness: having began to occur): terminal

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

early (comparative earlier, superlative earliest)

  1. At a time before expected; sooner than usual.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
    We finished the project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.
  2. Soon; in good time; seasonably.
    • Bible, Proverbs viii. 17
      Those that seek me early shall find me.
    • Alfred, Lord Tennyson
      You must wake and call me early.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

early (plural earlies)

  1. A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.
    • 2007, Paul W. Browning, The Good Guys Wear Blue (page 193)
      On my first day on the watch after leaving the shoplifting squad I paraded on earlies but had completely forgotten to take my ear ring off.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: arms · across · answer · #447: early · saying · talk · spirit

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