[syn: early, betimes]
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.
[1913 Webster]
You must wake and call me early. --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Seen in life's early morning sky. --Keble.
[1913 Webster]
The forms of its earlier manhood. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
early
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]
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(a)]
3: belonging to 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: late, middle]
6: expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the
negotiations"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
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
U.S. Gazetteer Counties (2000):
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 Places (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