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Glite Dictionary
earlyish

earlyish

5.2
A little before the usual time
  • adjective
  • /ˈɜrliɪʃ/
  • Informal
: temprano
  • They arrived at the event earlyish, giving them time to mingle before it started.

And yeah, we're going to, like, probably watch some films and get an earlyish night.

Examples

  • I was several weeks preterm; not quite a preemie, but earlyish.

    Blog text (19)

  • You know, I would say earlyish on, if you decide you like the person, let them know.

  • Danced around in Gunnerkrigg Court once; in an earlyish storyline, Eglamore says he doesn't want to fight Jones, even just as a quick demonstration for some students.

    Blog text (10)

  • The meeting was scheduled for an earlyish hour, allowing everyone to finish their work before lunch.

  • She prefers to wake up earlyish on weekends to make the most of her day.

Synonyms

early
vsearlyish
∞ 1.0

Before the usual or expected time

is somewhat before average time but less definite or exact

How Early

early
∞ 1.0
earlyish
  • Informal
5.2
on time
321 1.0
late
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

earlyish positive
earlyisher comparative
earlyishest superlative

Morphology

earlyish = early (transparent) = early + ish

The informal suffix '-ish' adds a 'somewhat' meaning to the adjective 'early', so the sense is directly predictable from its parts.

Etymology

Earlyish is simply early plus the small ending -ish, which means 'somewhat' or 'kind of', like in greenish. So earlyish means 'a little early', earlier than usual but not exactly early.