From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Early \Ear"ly\ ([~e]r"l[y^]), adverb [OE. erli, erliche, AS. [=ae]rl[=i]ce; [=ae]r sooner + l[=i]c 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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Early \Ear"ly\, adjective [Compar. {Earlier} ([~e]r"l[i^]*[~e]r); superl. {Earliest}.] [OE. earlich. [root]204. See {Early}, adverb]
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.
{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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
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"
adverb
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}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
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
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
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
From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:
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
From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:
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
From U.S. Gazetteer Counties (2000) [gaz-county]:
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
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0