[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

early \ear"ly\, a. compar. earlier ~er"li^~er;
   superl. earliest. oe. earlich. root204. see early,
   adv.
   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.
      1913 webster

            early and provident fear is the mother of safety.
                                                  --burke.
      1913 webster

            the doorsteps and threshold with the early grass
            springing up about them.              --hawthorne.
      1913 webster

   2. coming in the first part of a period of time, or among the
      first of successive acts, events, etc.
      1913 webster

            seen in life's early morning sky.     --keble.
      1913 webster

            the forms of its earlier manhood.     --longfellow.
      1913 webster

            the earliest poem he composed was in his seventeenth
            summer.                               --j. c.
                                                  shairp.
      1913 webster

   early english philol. 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.
        1913 webster
see also:
earlier earliest early late early english english 
early english architecture 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

earlier \earlier\ adj.
   occurring at a prior time; as, on earlier occasions.
   wordnet 1.5

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

early
     adj 1: at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of
            events or before the usual or expected time; "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" ant: middle, late
     2: being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an
        early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an
        early computer" ant: late
     3: of the distant past; "the early inhabitants of europe";
        "former generations"; "in other times" syn: earlya, formera,
         othera
     4: very young; "at an early age"
     5: of an early stage in the development of a language or
        literature; "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" ant: middle, late
     6: expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the
        negotiations"
     adv 1: during an early stage; "early on in her career" syn: early
            on
     2: before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated
        early"; "the house was completed ahead of time" syn: ahead
        of time, too soon ant: late
     3: in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning" syn: betimes
     also: earliest, earlier
see also:
middle late earlya formera othera early on 
ahead of time too soon betimes earliest earlier 

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

earlier
     adj : comparative and superlative of `early' more early than;
           most early; "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his
           earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher";
           "verdi's earliest and most raucous opera" syn: earliest
     adv 1: earlier in time; previously; "i had known her before"; "as i
            said before"; "he called me the day before but your
            call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died
            four years earlier"; "i mentioned that problem
            earlier" syn: before
     2: comparatives of `soon' or `early'; "come a little sooner, if
        you can"; "came earlier than i expected" syn: sooner
     3: before now; "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"
        syn: in the first place, in the beginning, to begin
        with, originally
see also:
earliest before sooner in the first place in the beginning to begin with 
originally 

[5] : WordNet (r) 2.0

earlier
     see early
see also:
early 

[6] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

60 moby thesaurus words for "earlier":
   aforetime, already, antecedent, anterior, anticipatory, as yet,
   before, before all, before now, beforehand, beforetime, ci-devant,
   down, early, elder, ere, ere then, erenow, erewhile, erst,
   erstwhile, first, fore, foregoing, former, formerly, heretofore,
   historically, hitherto, in the past, in times past, inferior,
   lower, lowest, nether, older, once, only yesterday, or ever,
   preceding, precurrent, preexistent, prehistorically, previous,
   previously, prime, prior, priorly, recently, senior, so far,
   sooner, subjacent, then, theretofore, thus far, under, whilom,
   yesterday, yet

Earlier >> E Words
Earlier, definition of term: Earlier
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