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   Ear·ly

   /ˈərlē/

   

   adjective

   • 1. happening or done before the usual or expected time: "we ate an early lunch" Similar untimelyprematuretoo soontoo earlybefore timearchaic:unseasonableprompttimelyquickspeedyrapidfastwithout delayexpeditiousarchaic:ratheOpposite overdue
   • ▪ (of a plant or crop) flowering or ripening before other varieties: "early potatoes"
   • 2. happening, belonging to, or done near the beginning of a particular time or period: "an early goal secured victory" Similar advanceforwardpriorinitialpreliminaryfirstprimarypilottesttrialOpposite late
   • ▪ done or occurring near the beginning of the day: "we agreed to meet at 6 a.m. to get an early start"
   • ▪ denoting or belonging to the beginning or opening stages of a historical period, cultural movement, or sphere of activity: "early impressionism"
   • ▪ occurring at the beginning of a sequence: "the earlier chapters of the book"

   adverb

   • 1. before the usual or expected time: "I was planning to finish work early today" Similar early in the dayin the early morningat dawnat daybreakat cockcrowwith the larkinformal:at stupid o'clockbefore the usual timebefore the appointed timeprematurelytoo soonahead of timeahead of schedulein good timeliterary:betimesOpposite late
   • 2. near the beginning of a particular time or period: "we lost a couple of games early in the season"
   • ▪ near the beginning of the day: "I wrote this piece early one morning"
   • ▪ before the present time or before the time one is referring to: "you met my husband earlier"

   Word Origin Old English (as an adverb) ǣrlīce (see ere, -ly2), influenced by Old Norse árliga. The adjective use dates from Middle English.

   Derivatives

   • 1. earliness noun

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • E

     1

   • A

     1

   • R

     1

   • L

     1

   • Y

     4

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