Where does “early” come from?

Early comes from Middle English erly, from Old English ærlice, from Old English ǣr meaning before, from Proto-Germanic airist, airi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂éyeri and h₂ey-.

early (English): At a time in advance of the usual or expected...

Definitions

  1. At a time in advance of the usual or expected...

Ancestry of “early”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englisherlyearly
2Old Englishǣrlīċe—

Words derived from “early”

Every word from Old English ǣrlīċe →