earlier

adv. previously, at an earlier time; before now

adj. before the scheduled time

Adjective
1. (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"
(synonym) earliest
(similar) early
(classification) comparative
Adverb
1. earlier in time; previously; "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"
(synonym) before
2. comparatives of `soon' or `early'; "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"
(synonym) sooner
3. before now; "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"
(synonym) in the first place, in the beginning, to begin with, originally

Adjective
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"
(antonym) middle
(similar) aboriginal, primal, primeval, primaeval, primordial
(see-also) first
(attribute) timing
2. being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
(antonym) late, later(a)
(similar) archaic, primitive
3. of the distant past; "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times"
(synonym) early(a), former(a), other(a)
(similar) past
4. very young; "at an early age"
(similar) young, immature
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"
(antonym) middle
(similar) Old
(classification) linguistics
6. expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
(similar) future
Adverb
1. during an early stage; "early on in her career"
(synonym) early on
2. before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
(synonym) ahead of time, too soon
(antonym) late, belatedly, tardily
3. in good time; "he awoke betimes that morning"
(synonym) betimes

Synonyms and related words:
aforetime, already, antecedent, anterior, anticipatory, as yet, before, before all, before now, beforehand, beforetime, ci-devant, down, early, elder, ere, ere then, erenow, erewhile, erst, erstwhile, first, fore, foregoing, former, formerly, heretofore, historically, hitherto, in the past, in times past, inferior, lower, lowest, nether, older, once, only yesterday, or ever, preceding, precurrent, preexistent, prehistorically, previous, previously, prime, prior, priorly, recently, senior, so far, sooner, subjacent, then, theretofore, thus far, under, whilom, yesterday, yet,
  

PIÙ PRESTO\VICINO\ANTICO\PRECOCE