Meaning of EARLY
| Pronunciation: | | eerlee
|
 WordNet Dictionary |
| |
| | Definition: | |
- [adv] before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
- [adv] in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning"
- [adv] during an early stage; "early on in her career"
- [adj] 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"
- [adj] being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
- [adj] (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"
- [adj] very young; "at an early age"
- [adj] expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
|
| |
| | Websites: | | |
| |
| | Synonyms: | | aboriginal, advance(a), ahead of time, archaean, archaeozoic, archaic, archean, archeozoic, azoic, baby, beforehand(p), beginning(a), betimes, crude, earlier, earliest, early on, earlyish, embryo(a), embryonic, embryotic, future, immature, in embryo, inchoate, incipient, matutinal, new, novice(a), Old, precocious, premature, previous(p), primaeval, primal, primeval, primitive, primordial, proterozoic, proto(a), rude, too soon, untimely, wee, young |
| |
| | Antonyms: | | belatedly, late, late, later(a), middle, tardily | | |
| | See Also: | | first | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
| |
| | Definition: | |
\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.
\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.
|
| |
| Thesaurus Terms |
| |
| | Related Terms: | | 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 |
| |
|
|
|