Definitions of early:

• adjective:   very young

  Example: "At an early age"

• adjective:   expected in the near future

  Example: "Look for an early end to the negotiations"

• adjective:   at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time

  Example: "Early morning"

• adjective:   being or occurring at an early stage of development

  Example: "In an early stage"

• adjective:   of an early stage in the development of a language or literature

  Example: "The Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."

• adverb:   before the usual time or the time expected

  Example: "She graduated early"

• adverb:   in good time
• adverb:   during an early stage

  Example: "Early on in her career"

• name:  A surname (common: 1 in 16666 families; popularity rank in the U.S.: #1994)