Definitions for earlier
Princeton's WordNet
earlier, earliest(adverb)
(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, before(adverb)
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"
sooner, earlier(adverb)
comparatives of `soon' or `early'
"Come a little sooner, if you can"; "came earlier than I expected"
in the first place, earlier, in the beginning, to begin with, originally(adverb)
before now
"why didn't you tell me in the first place?"
Wiktionary
earlier(Adverb)
previously; before now; sooner
I shall be late because I didn't start earlier.
earlier(Adjective)
occurring previously
I shall be late because I missed the earlier train.
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