Ear·ly (ûr'lē) American Confederate general whose forces threatened Washington, D.C. (1864) but were ultimately defeated by Union troops led by Philip H. Sheridan (1865).
O.E. ærlice, from ær "soon, ere" (from P.Gmc. *airiz, from PIE *ayer- "day, morning") + -lice "-ly," adverbial suffix. The early bird of the proverb is from 1670s.