Earliest

5 definitions found

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

  Early \Ear"ly\, a. [Compar. {Earlier} ([~e]r"l[i^]*[~e]r);
     superl. {Earliest}.] [OE. earlich. [root]204. 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]

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

  earliest \earliest\ adj.
     preceding all others in time.
  
     Syn: premier, premiere.
          [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  earliest
       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: {earlier}]
       adv : with the least delay; "the soonest I can arrive is 3 P.M."
             [syn: {soonest}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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: {early(a)}, {former(a)},
           {other(a)}]
       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}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  earliest
       See {early}