in or during the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.: early in the year.
2.
in the early part of the morning: to get up early.
3.
before the usual or appointed time; ahead of time: They came early and found their hosts still dressing.
4.
far back in time: The Greeks early learned to sail and navigate.
adjective
5.
occurring in the first part of a period of time, a course of action, a series of events, etc.: an early hour of the day.
6.
occurring before the usual or appointed time: an early dinner.
7.
belonging to a period far back in time: early French architecture.
8.
occurring in the near future: I look forward to an early reply.
9.
(of a fruit or vegetable) appearing or maturing before most others of its type: early apples.
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Earliestis always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a fruit or vegetable that appears before most others of its type.
Idiom
11.
early on, with but little time elapsed; early in the course of a process, project, etc.; early in the game.
Origin: before 950; Middle English erlich (adj.), erliche (adv.), Old English ǣrlīc, ǣrlīce, mutated variant of ārlīc, ārlīce, equivalent to ār- early (positive of ǣrere) + līc(e) -ly
O.E. ærlice, from ær "soon, ere" (from P.Gmc. *airiz, from PIE *ayer- "day, morning") + -lice "-ly," adverbial suffix (see -ly (2)). The early bird of the proverb is from 1670s. Related: Earlier; earliest.