Early — Defs

01 adv. Soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early.

1.
Soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early.
“Those that me early shall find me.” — Prov. viii. 17.

“You must wake and call me early.” — Tennyson.

02 a. In advance of the usual or appointed time; in good season; prior in time; among or near the first; -- opposed to late; as, the early bird; …

1.
In advance of the usual or appointed time; in good season; prior in time; among or near the first; -- opposed to late; as, the early bird; an early spring; early fruit.
“Early and provident fear is the mother of safety.” — Burke.

“The doorsteps and threshold with the early grass springing up about them.” — Hawthorne.
2.
Coming in the first part of a period of time, or among the first of successive acts, events, etc.
“Seen in life's early morning sky.” — Keble.

“The forms of its earlier manhood.” — Longfellow.

“The earliest poem he composed was in his seventeenth summer.” — J. C. Shairp.

Phrases & compounds

Early English — See the Note under English.

Early English architecture — the first of the pointed or Gothic styles used in England, succeeding the Norman style in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Syn. Forward; timely; not late; seasonable.