earlier in WordNet English dictionary

1. earlier in time; previously
   "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"
   earlier  before  earlier  before 
   
2. comparatives of `soon' or `early'
   "Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"
   sooner  earlier  sooner  earlier 
   
3. before now
   "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"
   in the first place  earlier  in the beginning  to begin with  originally  in the first place  earlier  in the beginning  to begin with  originally 
   

1. (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early
   "a fashion popular in earlier times"; "his earlier work reflects the influence of his teacher"; "Verdi's earliest and most raucous opera"
   earlier  earliest