Early

ėr′li, adj. in good season: at or near the beginning of the day: relating to the beginning: happening in the near future.— adv. near the beginning: soon.— n. Ear′line .— Early and late , at all times; Early bird , an early riser; Early English ( arch it. ), generally applied to the form of Gothic in which the pointed arch was first employed in Britain. The Early English succeeded the Norman towards the end of the 12th century, and merged into the Decorated at the end of the 13th.— Keep early hours , to rise and go to bed betimes; Small and early ( coll. ), applied to evening parties; The early bird catches the worm , a proverb in favour of early rising. [A.S. árlíce — ǽr , before.]