Definitions from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Adjective 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Antonyms 1.3.3 Derived terms 1.3.4 Translations 1.4 Adverb 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Antonyms 1.4.3 Derived terms 1.4.4 Translations

[ English

Rank of this word in the English language, from analyzing texts from Project Gutenberg.
arms	across	answer	#447: early	saying	talk	spirit

[ Etymology

From Middle English erli, Old English ǣrlīce, from ǣr (before) + the adverbial suffix -līce.

[ Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɜːli/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɝli/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)li
• Hyphenation: ear·ly

[ Adjective

early (comparative earlier, superlative earliest)

1. At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

   At eleven, we went for an early lunch.

   She began reading at an early age.

   His mother suffered an early death.

2. Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on-time.

   You're early today! I don't usually see you before nine o'clock.

   The early guests sipped their punch and avoided each other's eyes.

3. Near the start or beginning.

   The play "Two Gentlemen of Verona" is one of Shakespeare's early works.

[ Synonyms

• (at a time in advance of the usual): premature
• (near the start): first

[ Antonyms

• late

[ Derived terms

• early bird
• early doors

[ Translations

at a time in advance of the usual

Finnish: varhainen fi(fi), aikainen fi(fi) French: en avance German: früh de(de), verfrüht de(de) Irish: luath ga(ga)

Korean: 이르다 (ireuda), 빠르다 (ppareuda) Romanian: devreme Russian: ранний ru(ru) (ránnij) Spanish: temprano/temprana

arriving at a time before expected

Dutch: vroeg nl(nl) Finnish: aikainen fi(fi), ennenaikainen fi(fi) French: en avance German: früh de(de), verfrüht de(de) Irish: luath ga(ga)

Italian: precoce it(it) Korean: 이르다 (ireuda), 빠르다 (ppareuda) Russian: ранний ru(ru) (ránnij) Spanish: prematuro es(es), temprano es(es)

near the start or beginning

Finnish: varhainen fi(fi) German: früh de(de) Italian: primo it(it) Korean: 이르다 (ireuda), 빠르다 (ppareuda)

Romanian: devreme Russian: ранний ru(ru) (ránnij) Spanish: primero/primera

[ Adverb

early (comparative earlier, superlative earliest)

1. At a time before expected; sooner than usual.

   We finished thee project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.

[ Synonyms

• prematurely

[ Antonyms

• late, tardily

[ Derived terms

• early doors

[ Translations

at a time before expected

Basque: goizik Breton: abred Bulgarian: ранен bg(bg) m. Chinese: 早 (zǎo) Czech: brzy cs(cs) Esperanto: frue eo(eo) Finnish: aikaisin, varhain, ajoissa, hyvissä ajoin French: tôt fr(fr) Greek: νωρίς el(el) (noris) Hittite: karú Hungarian: korán hu(hu) Icelandic: snemma is(is) Ido: frue

Italian: presto it(it) Japanese: 早く (はやく, hayaku) Korean: 일찍 (iljjik), 빨리 (ppalli) Polish: wcześnie pl(pl) Portuguese: cedo pt(pt) Russian: рано ru(ru) (ráno) Serbian: rano (comparative ranije, superlative najranije) Slovak: skorý Slovene: zgodaj sl(sl) Spanish: temprano es(es) Swedish: tidigt sv(sv) Turkish: erken tr(tr) Welsh: cynnar