early

[ ur-lee ]

/ ˈɜr li /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR early ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.: early in the year.

in the early part of the morning: to get up early.

before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time: They came early and found their hosts still dressing.

far back in time: The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.

adjective, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

occurring in the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.: an early hour of the day.

occurring before the usual or appointed time: an early dinner.

belonging to a period far back in time: early French architecture.

occurring in the near future: I look forward to an early reply.

(of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type: early apples.

noun, plural ear·lies.

a fruit or vegetable that appears before most others of its type.

Idioms for early

early on, with but little time elapsed; early in the course of a process, project, etc.; early in the game.

Origin of early

before 950; Middle English erlich (adj.), erliche (adv.), Old English ǣrlīc, ǣrlīce, mutated variant of ārlīc, ārlīce, equivalent to ār- early (positive of ǣr ere) + līc(e) -ly

SYNONYMS FOR early

5 initial.

6 beforehand, premature.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR early ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM early

ear·li·ness, noun

Words nearby early

earless seal, earlier han, earlobe, earlock, earlship, early, early adopter, early american, early bird, early bird catches the worm, early blight

Example sentences from the Web for earliness

Thomas Rivers introduced it into England where it has long been grown and esteemed for its earliness and good quality.

The Peaches of New York |U. P. Hedrick
A point of merit is earliness, as it ripens just before Moore Early.

The Grapes of New York |U. P. Hedrick
As for the earliness of the season, the boys have had plenty of practice and they ought to have struck their gait before this.

Baseball Joe on the School Nine |Lester Chadwick
I returned to my lodging, and forthwith betook myself to bed, notwithstanding the earliness of the hour.

Lavengro |George Borrow

Notwithstanding the earliness of the hour, and the roughness of the weather, a great crowd was rushing on board.

Gleanings by the Way |John A. Clark

British Dictionary definitions for earliness

early

/ (ˈɜːlɪ) /

adjective -lier or -liest

before the expected or usual time

occurring in or characteristic of the first part of a period or sequence

occurring in or characteristic of a period far back in time

occurring in the near future

at the earliest not before the time or date mentioned

early days too soon to tell how things will turn out

adverb -lier

before the expected or usual time

near the first part of a period or sequence I was talking to him earlier

Derived forms of early

earliness, noun

Word Origin for early

Old English ǣrlīce, from ǣr ere + -līce -ly ²; related to Old Norse arliga

Idioms and Phrases with earliness

early

In addition to the idioms beginning with early

early bird catches the worm
early on
early to bed, early to rise (makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise)

also see:

bright and early

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

early

adverb, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

adjective, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

noun, plural ear·lies.

Idioms for early

Origin of early

SYNONYMS FOR early

OTHER WORDS FROM early

Words nearby early

Example sentences from the Web for earliness

British Dictionary definitions for earliness

adjective -lier or -liest

adverb -lier

Derived forms of early

Word Origin for early

Idioms and Phrases with earliness

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

early

adverb, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

adjective, ear·li·er, ear·li·est.

noun, plural ear·lies.

Idioms for early

Origin of early

SYNONYMS FOR early

OTHER WORDS FROM early

Words nearby early

Words related to earliness

Example sentences from the Web for earliness

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for earliness

adjective -lier or -liest

adverb -lier

Derived forms of early

Word Origin for early

Idioms and Phrases with earliness

British Dictionary definitions for earliness