adjective satellite

• (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early
  "a fashion popular in earlier times"
• belonging to the distant past
  "the early inhabitants of Europe"
• very young
  "at an early age"
• expected in the near future
  "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
  "early morning"
• being or occurring at an early stage of development
  "in an early stage"
• of an early stage in the development of a language or literature
  "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."

adverb

• earlier in time; previously
  "I had known her before"
• comparatives of `soon' or `early'
  "Come a little sooner, if you can"
• before now
  "why didn't you tell me in the first place?"