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"
being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
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"
very young; "at an early age"
expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows; "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner"
a minor match preceding the main event
designed to orient or acquaint with a situation before proceeding; "a preliminary investigation"
sufficiently significant to affect the whole world; "earthshaking proposals"; "the contest was no world-shaking affair"; "the conversation...could hardly be called world-shattering"
any of several breeds of Indian cattle; especially a large American heat and tick resistant greyish humped breed evolved in the Gulf States by interbreeding Indian cattle and now used chiefly for crossbreeding
the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category
a member of the highest of the four Hindu varnas; "originally all brahmans were priests"
a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family); "a Boston Brahman"
any of various small butterflies of the family Lycaenidae having coppery wings
a reddish-brown color resembling the color of polished copper
a copper penny
a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor