early

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"early" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“early” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #354. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#354
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

Corpus desk

Index EN-early · early · English

early · rank #354 · 7 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #354
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH book

Nearest frequency peer: book (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “early”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “early” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

early vs Ely
40% similar
early vs easy
60% similar
early vs earn
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for early
PropertyValue
Headwordearly
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters5
Frequency rank#354
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “early”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).earlylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “book” (#353), “friends” (#355), “able” (#352). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “early” is #354. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around early, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #354 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for early, with forms such as "aerly", "ealry", and "earlly". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "Ely", "easy", "earn", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly. The correct English form is early, spelled E-A-R-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.
  2. 2
    Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.
  3. 3
    After but close to the start of a period of time.
  4. 4
    In the starting hours of the day.
  5. 5
    Having begun to occur; in its early stages.
  6. 6
    Of a star or class of stars, hotter than the sun.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how early appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. at eleven, we went for an early lunch; she began reading at an early age; his mother suffered an early death
  2. Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.

Etymology

From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly.

Synonyms

prematurefirstearlyearly doors

Antonyms

lateterminalmidmiddle

This word in other languages

temprano(Español)de bonne heure(Français)früh(Deutsch)precoce(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aerly
  • ealry
  • earlly
  • earlyy
  • earrly
  • earyl
  • eraly

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of early - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aerly2ealry2earlly1earlyy1earrly1earyl2eraly2
Edit distance from "early"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "early"?
"early" is spelled E-A-R-L-Y.
What does "early" mean?
As an adjective, "early" means: At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.
What words are commonly confused with "early"?
"early" is commonly confused with "Ely", "easy", "earn". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "early"?
From Middle English erly, erlich, earlich, from Old English ǣrlīċ (“early”, adjective), equivalent to ere + -ly. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "early", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

local#358means#349least#348video#363

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

young7 variantsgames7 variantsmaybe7 variantscourt7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list