adj(1) 早的， 初始(期)的(near the beginning of a period of time， a course of action， a series of events， etc)：～morning清晨;the～part of the century本世纪的初叶; an～hour of the day 凌晨; a man in his～twenties 一个20岁出头的男人; the～stages of an animal's growth 动物生长的初期; an～riser 早起的人; the～works of Beethoven 贝多芬的早期作品; 〖反〗 late;

(2) 比平常或指定时间早的(happening sooner than usual or expected)：an～arrival/death/maturity of the mind 提前到达/夭折/思维早熟;～closing/warning 提前关门/事先警告; We grow～rice. 我们种早稻。It's too～to go yet. 现在去太早。The young man was～for the interview. 那个年轻人提早赶来参加面试。The bus was half an hour～. 汽车早到了半个小时。He was one of the～arrivals. 他是来得最早的人之一。The～bird catches the worm. (prov) 捷足者先登。〖同〗beforehand;〖反〗late;

(3) 早先的，古时的(belonging to a period far back in time)：the～musical instrument/architecture 早期的乐器/建筑; The archaeologists uncovered an～Egyptian city. 考古学家挖掘出一座古代埃及城市。E～man learned to use boats thousands of years ago. 早期的人类在数千年前就学会了使用船只。〖同〗 ancient， primitive; 〖反〗 modern;

(4)及早的， 早日的(in the near future)[作attrib] [无comp]： We hope for an～production of the play/reply to our letter/settlement of the problem. 我们希望这个话剧早日上演/我们的信件早日得到答复/这个问题早些解决。

adv (1)早，初，开始，在初期 (near the beginning of a period of time， course of action or series of events)： go to bed/get up/leave～早睡/早起/早走; My father is up～. 我的父亲起得很早。The campers set out～in the morning. 露营者一大早就出发了。～in one's life 在某人一生的初期;～in the year/this century 年初/本世纪初叶;～in the development of cars 在汽车发展的初期 〖反〗late;

(2) 比通常或指定时间早地 (sooner than usual or expected)： He came half an hour～for fear of being late for the appointment. 由于担心约会迟到， 他提前半个小时就到了。〖同〗beforehand;〖反〗later;

(3) 早先，古时，很久之前 (far back in time; long ago)： Man learned the usefulness of tools/learned to use tools～. 人类在很久以前就懂得了工具的重要性/学会了使用工具。This small island was inhabited as～as a thousand years ago. 这个小岛早在1000年以前就有人居住了。〖同〗 previously;

(4) 尽早(so as to allow enough time)：Please give your reply～. 请尽早答复。

at your earliest convenience 请尽早(fml)：Please reply at your～est convenience. 请尽早答复。

an early bird 早起(到)者：People with a large family to support are usually～birds. 需要供养一大家子人的人通常都起得很早。The～birds got the best seats for the match. 早到的人占据了赛场最好的座位。

(it is) early days (yet) 为时过早 (infml， 尤 BrE)：It's～days yet to make up my mind. 现在要我下决心还为时过早。

early on 在早期：He became famous～on in his career. 他在事业的初期便已经非常著名了。

→′earliness n 早(期)