4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Early  \Ear"ly\  ([~e]r"l[y^]),  adv  [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  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  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  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  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:  (linguistics)  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}] 
 
  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 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
or search   thesauri dictionary search words