early

Adj

1. At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.
2. Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.
3. After but close to the start of a period of time.
4. In the starting hours of the day.
5. Having begun to occur; in its early stages.
6. Of a star or class of stars, hotter than the sun.

Noun

A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.

Adv

1. At a time before expected; sooner than usual.
2. Soon; in good time; seasonably.

Opposite of

late

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɜːli/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: erly

Inherited from Old English: ǣrlīċ

Inherited from Old English: ǣrlīċe

Cognate with Old Norse: árliga

Cognate with Danish: årle

Cognate with Swedish: arla

Cognate with Norwegian: årle

Cognate with Faroese: árla

In summary

From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly.

Synonyms

soon

🔜

premature

fast

betimes

quickly

ahead of time

morning

earlier

precocious

first

1st

untimely

in the morning

quick

immediate

initial

in good time

front

ancient

early on

matutinal

afternoon

other

early rising

fast-ripening

former

long ago

a while ago

beforehand

very

early morning

timely

in time

rathe

prompt

prematurely

in advance

impending

immediately

ahead of schedule

preliminary

recently

too soon

hurried

hasty

before long

formerly

before

on time

old

🧓

as soon as possible

Translations

früh

temprano

tôt

vroeg

presto

cedo

de bonne heure

erken

wczesny

wcześnie

primo

1st

précoce

vroegtijdig

zeitig

di buon’ora

Sentences

It was early morning when she woke up .

Maybe that's why they give up on it so early , too .

You're here rather early .

He went by the alias Madman and Iron Fingers , especially in his early recordings .

They were also responsible for early parts of the Leicester Royal Infirmary .

From an early age , Gerard Mur showed a great talent for writing .