| adjective | (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early “a fashion popular in earlier times” |
| adjective | at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time “early morning” |
| adjective | being or occurring at an early stage of development “in an early stage” |
| adjective | belonging to the distant past “the early inhabitants of Europe” |
| adjective | very young “at an early age” |
| adjective | 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.” |
| adjective | expected in the near future “look for an early end to the negotiations” |
| adverb | earlier in time; previously “I had known her before” |
| adverb | comparatives of `soon' or `early' “Come a little sooner, if you can” |
| adverb | before now “why didn't you tell me in the first place?” |
| earliness | noun | quality of coming early or earlier in time |