[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

early \ear"ly\ ~er"ly^, adv. oe. erli, erliche, as.
   =aerlimacce; =aer sooner + limacc like. see ere,
   and like.
   soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early.
   1913 webster

         those that me early shall find me.       --prov. viii.
                                                  17.
   1913 webster

         you must wake and call me early.         --tennyson.
   1913 webster
see also:
ere like 

[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] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

129 moby thesaurus words for "early":
   a priori, advanced, ages ago, ahead, ahead of time, already,
   anachronistic, ancient, anciently, antecedent, antedated,
   antediluvian, anterior, anticipative, anticipatory, antiquated,
   antique, away back, back, backward, before, before all, beforehand,
   beforetime, beginning, behind time, behindhand, betimes,
   bright and early, ci-devant, dated, earlier, elder, ere, ere then,
   erenow, erstwhile, ex post facto, first, fore, foredated,
   foregoing, forehand, forehanded, foresighted, foresightedly,
   former, formerly, heretofore, hitherto, immemorial, in advance,
   in ancient times, in anticipation, in good time, in olden times,
   in times past, inappropriate, initial, initially, inopportune,
   into the past, late, long ago, long since, metachronistic,
   misdated, mistimed, of old, of yore, old, olden, older, once,
   onetime, or ever, original, originally, out of date, out of season,
   overdue, oversoon, parachronistic, past, past due, pioneer,
   postdated, preceding, precipitant, precocious, precociously,
   precurrent, preexistent, prehistoric, premature, prematurely,
   prevenient, previous, previously, primal, prime, primeval,
   primitive, primordial, prior, priorly, pristine, prochronistic,
   quondam, recent, retroactive, retrospective, seasonably, senior,
   some time ago, some time back, sometime, soon, tardy, then,
   theretofore, timely, unanticipated, unexpected, unpunctual,
   unseasonable, untimely, years ago, yet

[5] : U.S. Gazetteer (1990)

early, ia city, fips 23475
  location: 42.46087 n, 95.15252 w
  population 1990: 649 298 housing units
  area: 1.0 sq km land, 0.0 sq km water
  zip codes: 50535
early, tx city, fips 21904
  location: 31.74452 n, 98.94073 w
  population 1990: 2380 992 housing units
  area: 6.3 sq km land, 0.0 sq km water
  zip codes: 76801

[6] : U.S. Gazetteer Counties (2000)

early -- u.s. county in georgia
   population 2000:    12354
   housing units 2000: 5338
   land area 2000:     511.232451 sq. miles 1324.085913 sq. km
   water area 2000:    5.038120 sq. miles 13.048671 sq. km
   total area 2000:    516.270571 sq. miles 1337.134584 sq. km
   located within:       georgia ga, fips 13
   location:             31.311249 n, 84.936136 w
   headwords:
    early
    early, ga
    early county
    early county, ga

[7] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

early, ia -- u.s. city in iowa
   population 2000:    605
   housing units 2000: 293
   land area 2000:     0.394821 sq. miles 1.022582 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.000000 sq. miles 0.000000 sq. km
   total area 2000:    0.394821 sq. miles 1.022582 sq. km
   fips code:            23475
   located within:       iowa ia, fips 19
   location:             42.461903 n, 95.151290 w
   zip codes 1990:     50535
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    early, ia
    early

[8] : U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000)

early, tx -- u.s. city in texas
   population 2000:    2588
   housing units 2000: 1080
   land area 2000:     2.567012 sq. miles 6.648529 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.000000 sq. miles 0.000000 sq. km
   total area 2000:    2.567012 sq. miles 6.648529 sq. km
   fips code:            21904
   located within:       texas tx, fips 48
   location:             31.744601 n, 98.941171 w
   zip codes 1990:     76801
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    early, tx
    early

Early >> E Words
Early, definition of term: Early
early_pag1.html

Early On >> E Words
Early On, definition of term: Early On
early+on_pag1.html

Early Childhood >> E Words
Early Childhood, definition of term: Early Childhood
early+childhood_pag1.html

Early Warning S >> E Words
Early Warning S, definition of term: Early Warning S
early+warning+s_pag1.html