Etymology From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly.
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
Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
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
After but close to the start of a period of time.
The play "Two Gentlemen of Verona" is one of Shakespeare's early works.
Early results showed their winning 245 out of 300 seats in parliament. The main opponent locked up only 31 seats.
3 more examples
'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
It’s one of the earliest pieces in the comprehensive collection of metronomes by the British instrument dealer Tony Bingham, which forms the bulk of the Basel exhibition.2017 June 30, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, “Ticktock as Taskmaster: A Show About Metronomes and Musical Time”, in The New York Times:
4
In the starting hours of the day.
It's too early for this sort of thing. I'm not awake yet.
5
Having begun to occur; in its early stages.
early cancer
harvesting early peaches
6
Astronomy, Natural sciences Of a star or class of stars, hotter than the sun.
Etymology From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly.
1
Informal A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.
On my first day on the watch after leaving the shoplifting squad I paraded on earlies but had completely forgotten to take my ear ring off.2007, Paul W. Browning, The Good Guys Wear Blue, page 193:
Etymology From Middle English erly, orely, arely, erliche, arliche, from Old English ǣrlīċe, ārlīċe (“early; early in the morning”, adverb), equivalent to ere + -ly. Cognate with Old Norse árliga, árla ( > Danish årle, Swedish arla, Norwegian årle, Faroese árla).
1
At a time before expected; sooner than usual.
We finished the project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.
I had children too early (in life), so my first baby arrived early.
2 more examples
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:
While warmer springs cause the early spider orchid to flower earlier in May, climate warming is also causing female bees to emerge from hibernation even earlier – confounding the orchid’s attempts to dupe the male bees.2018 April 5, Patrick Barkham, The Guardian:
2
Soon; in good time; seasonably.
[T]thoſe that ſeeke me early, ſhall find me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 8:17, column 1:
You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear; / Tomorrow 'ill be the happiest time of all the blythe Newyear; […]1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The May Queen”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 90: