| earlie |
| earlier | (adj) (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early, Syn. earliest, Example: a fashion popular in earlier times; his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher; Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera |
| earlier | (adv) earlier in time; previously, Syn. before, Example: 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 |
| earlier | adj. occurring at a prior time; |
| earliest | adj. preceding all others in time. |