early

1. At or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time (synset 300816521)
   "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"
   also: first - preceding all others in time or space or degree
   tells us about: timing - the time when something happens
   similar to:

   • aboriginal, primaeval, primal, primeval, primordial - having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state
   • advance, beforehand - being ahead of time or need
   • archaean, archean - of or relating to the earliest known rocks formed during the Precambrian Eon
   • archaeozoic, archeozoic - of or belonging to earlier of two divisions of the Precambrian era
   • azoic - before the appearance of life
   • earlier, earliest - (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early
   • earlyish - being somewhat early
   • premature, untimely - uncommonly early or before the expected time
   • premature, previous - too soon or too hasty
   • proterozoic - formed in the later of two divisions of the Precambrian era
   • proto - indicating the first or earliest or original
   • wee - very early
2. Being or occurring at an early stage of development (synset 300820993)
   "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
   similar to:

   • archaic, primitive - little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
   • new, young - (of crops) harvested at an early stage of development; before complete maturity
   • crude, primitive, rude - belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
   • embryonic, embryotic - in an early stage of development
   • inchoate, incipient - only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
   • precocious - appearing or developing early
3. Belonging to the distant past (synset 301733616)
   "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times"
   similar to: past - earlier than the present time; no longer current
   same as: former, other
4. Very young (synset 301653059)
   "at an early age"
   similar to: immature, young - (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
5. Of an early stage in the development of a language or literature (synset 300823421)
   "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"
   referred to in: linguistics - the scientific study of language
   similar to: old - of a very early stage in development
6. Expected in the near future (synset 301737207)
   "look for an early end to the negotiations"
   similar to: future - yet to be or coming

1. During an early stage (synset 400101231)
   "early on in her career"
   same as: early on
2. Before the usual time or the time expected (synset 400100632)
   "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
   same as: ahead of time, too soon
3. In good time (synset 400101142)
   "he awoke betimes that morning"
   same as: betimes

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