What is the meaning of earlier?

adjective

• Comparative and superlative of `early'. ( more early than; most early)
  • usage: "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera"
  • synonyms: earliest
• At or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: early
• Being or occurring at an early stage of development.
  • usage: "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
  • synonyms: early
• Belonging to the distant past.
  • usage: "the early inhabitants of Europe"; "former generations"; "in other times"
  • synonyms: early, former, other
• Very young.
  • usage: "at an early age"
  • synonyms: early
• Of an early stage in the development of a language or literature.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: early
• Expected in the near future.
  • usage: "look for an early end to the negotiations"
  • synonyms: early

adverb

• Earlier in time; previously.
  • usage: "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"
  • synonyms: before
• Comparatives of `soon' or `early'.
  • usage: "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"
  • synonyms: sooner
• Before now.
  • usage: "why didn't you tell me in the first place"
  • synonyms: in the first place, in the beginning, to begin with, originally
• During an early stage.
  • usage: "early on in her career"
  • synonyms: early on, early
• Before the usual time or the time expected.
  • usage: "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"
  • synonyms: early, ahead of time, too soon
• In good time.
  • usage: "he awoke betimes that morning"
  • synonyms: early, betimes