early

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adjective

1. At or near the start of a period, development, or series: beginning, first, initial. See start/end.
2. Of, existing, or occurring in a distant period: ancient, antediluvian, primitive. See start/end.
3. Developing, occurring, or appearing before the expected time: precocious, premature, untimely. See time.

adverb

Before the expected time: ahead, beforehand, betimes. Idioms: ahead of time, in advance, with time to spare. See time.

Idioms beginning with early:
early bird catches the worm
early on
early to bed, early to rise (makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise)

See also bright and early.

adj, adv

Definition: in the beginning
Antonyms: late

adj, adv

Definition: sooner than expected
Antonyms: later

IN BRIEF: Before the usual time.

Even if a farmer intends to loaf, he gets up in time to get an early start. — Ed Howe, (1853-1937), American journalist, writer and editor.

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sign description: The S-handshape is placed on the back of the opposite horizontal hand. The hand is then pulled back, toward the body as it opens.

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At or near the beginning.

• e. bloom — the stage at which to cut alfalfa for hay; when 10% of the crop is in bloom.
• e. breeding — 1. in seasonal breeding management systems it is customary to commence mating on a specific day in the expectation that the offspring will be born at a time to take most advantage of a seasonal peak of pasture. Early mating, before the recommended day, may be because of an expected poor level of fertility or similar overriding factor.
— 2. mating before the recommended age for that particular class or breed of stock; usually to maximize the productive life of the individual animal.
• e. fetal recovery — the use of embryo transfer in test matings to increase the speed of the program and reduce the time required in gestation to determine the constitution of the fetus.
• e. genes — genes expressed during early development of the fetus.
• e. pregnancy hormone (factor) — identified in mice and several other species including sheep, cattle, pigs, humans; appears in the blood within a few hours of conception and persists for several weeks; identifiable by laboratory test.

For a list of words related to early, see:

• Relative Time - early: (adv) at or near the beginning; before or ahead of time; (adj) occurring in the first part of a period of time

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See words rhyming with "early."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Earlier.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - tidlig, for tidlig, først, hurtig, ung-, ældst, ældre, snarlig
adv. - tidligt, for tidligt

idioms:

• an early bath    (det at) måtte gå før tiden
• at the earliest    allertidligst
• early bird    morgenmand
• early closing    kort åbningstid
• early days    lidt for tidligt, der er tid nok
• early night    tidlig sengetid
• early on    tidligt, på et tidligt tidspunkt
• early riser    morgenduelig person, morgenmand
• early warning    varsling
• in the early hours    tidligt om morgenen
• it's early days    det er lidt for tidligt, der er masser af tid
• the early bird catches the worm    morgenstund har guld i mund

Nederlands (Dutch)
vroeg, bijtijds

Français (French)
adj. - tôt, de bonne heure, de bonne heure (avant l'heure prévue), prématuré (une mort), anticipé (une retraite), (Mil) première (alerte), prime (jeunesse), premiers (pionniers, avions, etc), primitif (l'homme), ancien (la musique), du début (du règne), (Archit) premier (gothique), précoce, hâtif, (Comm) primeurs, bientôt, prochainement, (au plus) tôt, rapide (une livraison), (Comm) prompt (une réponse)
adv. - tôt, de bonne heure, en avance, dès que, le plus (tôt), au commencement ou au début de, (longtemps) à l'avance, à l'avance, auparavant, le plus tôt (suivi d'un comparatif)

idioms:

• an early bath    (Sport) renvoi (d'un joueur avant la fin d'un match), partir/quitter (avant la fin d'un film ou d'un concert)
• an early night    se coucher tôt
• at the earliest    au plus tôt, dès que possible
• early bird    être matinal, (se lever) tôt ou de bonne heure
• early closing    (GB) fermeture l'après-midi (d'un magasin)
• early days    (être) un peu tôt pour, les débuts de (projet, années)
• early on    plus tôt, précédemment
• early riser    (être) matinal, (se lever) tôt ou de bonne heure
• early warning    (Mil) (système) de première alerte
• it's early days    il est un peu tôt pour (dire)
• the early bird catches the worm    l'avenir appartient à qui se lève tôt (Prov)
• the early hours    à une heure matinale

Deutsch (German)
adj. - früh, zu früh, vorgeschichtlich
adv. - früh, zu früh

idioms:

• an early bath    vorzeitiges Ende
• an early night    früh ins Bett gehen
• at the earliest    frühestens
• early bird    Frühaufsteher
• early closing    Ladenschluß am Nachmittag
• early days    zu Beginn, zu früh
• early on    früh im Spiel
• early riser    eine Person, die aus dem Bett aufsteht
• early warning    Frühwarnung
• it's early days    es ist noch zu früh
• the early bird catches the worm    Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund
• the early hours    in den frühen Morgenstunden

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - πρόωρος, πρώιμος, πρωινός, εωθινός
adv. - (ε)νωρίς, εγκαίρως, πρώιμα

idioms:

• an early bath    αποβολή από αγώνα
• at the earliest    το νωρίτερο, το συντομότερο
• early bird    (καθομ.) άτομο που ξυπνάει νωρίς το πρωί
• early closing    (Βρετ.) ημιαργία (καταστημάτων, γραφείων κ.λπ.)
• early days    πρώτες μέρες
• early night    πλάγιασμα νωρίς
• early on    νωρίτερα, προηγουμένως
• early riser    άτομο που ξυπνάει νωρίς το πρωί
• early warning    έγκαιρη προειδοποίηση
• in the early hours    τις πρώτες πρωινές ώρες
• it's early days    είναι νωρίς ακόμα, είναι πρόωρο ακόμα
• the early bird catches the worm    όποιος πρόλαβε τον Κύριο είδε

Italiano (Italian)
presto

idioms:

• at the earliest    al più presto
• early bird    persona mattiniera
• early closing    chiusura pomeridiana
• early days    all'inizio
• early night    a letto presto
• early warning    preavviso

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - próximo (no futuro), precoce
adv. - cedo, logo, princípio

idioms:

• at the earliest    não antes de
• early bird    madrugador
• early closing    acontecimento prematuro
• early days    primórdios, muito cedo (para saber a resposta)
• early night    dormir cedo
• early on    não muito após o início
• early riser    madrugador
• early warning    sistema (m) de detecção

Русский (Russian)
ранний, начальный, заблаговременный, ближайший, безвременная (кончина), старинный, рано, вначале, своевременно

idioms:

• at the earliest    как можно скорее
• early bird    ранняя пташка
• early closing    раннее закрытие магазинов и учреждений
• early days    юность, молодость
• early night    ранний отход ко сну
• early on    до этого, раньше
• early riser    рано встает
• early warning    заблаговременное предупреждение

Español (Spanish)
adj. - tempranero, primitivo, avanzado, precoz, anticipado, matinal, cercano, próximo
adv. - temprano, tempranamente, antes de la hora

idioms:

• an early bath    (deporte) expulsar, mandar al vestuario
• an early night    acostarse temprano
• at the earliest    no antes que, como muy pronto
• early bird    madrugador
• early closing    día en que las tiendas cierran por la tarde
• early days    demasiado pronto, el tiempo lo dirá
• early on    más temprano
• early riser    madrugador
• early warning    alarma rápida
• it's early days    todavía es pronto
• the early bird catches the worm    a quien madruga Dios le ayuda
• the early hours    una hora temprana, en las primeras horas de la madrugada

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - tidig, för tidig
adv. - tidigt, för tidigt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
早的, 及早的, 早熟的, 很早, 不久, 初, 时鲜蔬菜或水果, 早年, 早先的日子

idioms:

• an early bath    早浴, 早一点洗澡
• at the earliest    一有机会, 至早, 作为最早日期
• early bird    早起者
• early closing    早早结束, 提早打烊
• early days    初期
• early night    早一点休息
• early on    刚开始时...
• early riser    早起的人
• early warning    预先警报, 远程警报
• in the early hours    在清晨时
• it's early days    刚开始的时候
• the early bird catches the worm    捷足先登

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 早的, 及早的, 早熟的
adv. - 很早, 不久, 初
n. pl. - 時鮮蔬菜或水果, 早年, 早先的日子

idioms:

• an early bath    早浴, 早一點洗澡
• at the earliest    一有機會, 至早, 作為最早日期
• early bird    早起者
• early closing    早早結束, 提早打烊
• early days    初期
• early night    早一點休息
• early on    剛開始時...
• early riser    早起的人
• early warning    預先警報, 遠程警報
• in the early hours    在清晨時
• it's early days    剛開始的時候
• the early bird catches the worm    捷足先登

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 이른, 초기의, 가까운 장래의
adv. - 일찍이, 옛날에는 , 머지않아
n. pl. - 올된 과일, 맏물, 신출

idioms:

• an early bath    (반칙 등으로 인한) 선수의 퇴장
• at the earliest    빨라도
• early on    곧, 초기에
• in the early hours    자정이 넘고 새벽이 오기 전의 이른 시간에
• the early bird catches the worm    새도 일찍 일어나는 놈이 벌레를 잡는다

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - 早く, 早くから, 初期に
adj. - 早い, 初期の, 早できの, 近い将来の

idioms:

• an early bath    早めの入浴
• at the earliest    早くとも
• early bird    早起きの人, 早めに来る人
• early closing    早じまい, 早じまいの日
• early days    時機尚早の
• early Middle Ages    中世初期
• early night    早晩
• early on    前もって
• early riser    早起き
• early warning    早期警戒
• it's early days    初期のころ, 昔は
• the early bird catches the worm    早起きは三文の得

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مبكر (ظرف) مبكرا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מוקדם‬
adv. - ‮בהקדם‬
n. pl. - ‮ביכורים, בייחוד תפוחי-אדמה‬

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